Colorado’s voters in November will vote on whether to allow sports betting at the state’s three casino towns, and to use the state taxes to help fund the state’s water development project.
This use of gaming taxes to help pay for the Colorado Water Plan was the brainchild of Senator Kerry Donovan, who sponsored the Senate version of the bill that created a framework for sports book.
The Water Plan was finalized four years ago, and includes many elements such as water storage projects, conservation measures and drought-resiliency programs. The goal is to improve the state’s water situation as its population grows and water supplies dwindle under the effects of climate change.
Senator Donovan told the Vail Daily, “I would say it’s going to take a lot of different pieces to solve the problem that we know is coming, which is huge population growth that is not matched with where the water resources are.”
If the voters approve, the casinos in Blackhawk, Central City and Cripple Creek will be able to take in-person sports wagers or partner with operators to provide mobile sports betting. This would be taxed at 10 percent, and a large portion would go into a fund to pay for the Water Plan. Some would also go to treat gambling addiction.
In explaining why he promoted sports betting, the senator said, “It’s one of those issues where everyone’s doing it, so we might as well regulate it and make sure that people aren’t losing their money and that it’s being done with adherence to standards and truth—that when you bet on the Broncos and the Broncos actually win you actually get money.” He added, “I think there’s some value in professionalizing it.”
