Colorado Gambling Laws: Guide to What is Legal
Colorado has expansive gambling laws that allow 22 land-based gaming venues in the state. Online gambling is legal in the state. While Colorado has no online gambling regulations, its officials don’t prosecute residents who play at real money online casinos.
Top Online Casinos in Colorado
Here’s a list of our recommended online casinos. Each offers a big welcome bonus and hundreds of online casino games, so enjoy.
Ranking | Casino Name | Bonus Amount | Review | Payment Options | Minimum Deposit | Actions |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
4 | USD $3750 Bonus |
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$20 Min Deposit | PLAY NOW | ||
5 | 280% Bonus |
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$10 Min Deposit | PLAY NOW |
Our Online Casino Guide to Colorado
This article features a survey of Colorado’s gambling laws and the various online betting sites that accept Colorado players. We discuss the state’s many gaming laws, plus give a timeline of Colorado gaming history. Once you finish this guide, you’ll have all the information you need to engage in safe and fair online casino gambling in Colorado.
Online Gambling Colorado FAQ
Yes, online gambling is legal in Colorado. If you want to make sports bets online in Colorado, you can play at one of 16 different licensed online bookmakers.
If you want to play for real money at online casinos or poker sites, you’ll need to wager at offshore online gaming sites. Colorado residents also can play at offshore sportsbooks.
Yes. Colorado hasn’t regulated online casinos, but residents can sign up and play at offshore online casinos for real money. Individual gamblers aren’t prosecuted. Read casino reviews, so you’ll play at safe and reputable casino sites.
Colorado has not passed online poker regulations. Card players will need to play at offshore online cardrooms. You won’t have consumer protections, so please read our online gambling reviews and pick cardrooms. Legitimate US online poker sites exist, so find them.
Yes. Colorado voters passed a referendum in November 2019, so sports betting is legal and regulated. Licensed online sportsbooks launched in May 2020 and 16 such sites now operate. Top brands like William Hill, FanDuel, DraftKings, and BetMGM operate in Colorado. Residents also can play at offshore online bookmaker sites.
Ignition Casino is our pick for Colorado online casino players. New depositors receive a $2,000 welcome bonus, while Bitcoin users receive a $3,000 bonus. Ignition features over 230 online slots, table games, and video poker games.
Our pick for Colorado poker players is Bovada Poker. Bovada is the US successor to Canada’s Bodog Poker, so you’ll play at one of the most trusted online cardrooms available for US players. Bovada has a full list of cash games, freezeout tournaments, sit-n-go events, and turbo events. It also has fun alternatives like deep stack tournaments, rebuys, and add-ons. The site offers a guaranteed $1.5 million in prize money each week.
If you play at an offshore online sportsbooks, we suggest Bovada Sports. New depositors receive a $250 welcome bonus, which raises to $750 if you deposit with Bitcoin. Bovada offers a full range of sports bets, including betting on US leagues like the NFL, MLB, NHL, NBA, and MLS. You’ll also have access to boxing, golf, tennis, MMA, and English Premier League matches.
The legal age for online gambling in Colorado is 18. Lottery bettors or charitable bingo players need to be 18 or older, as well. If you enter a land-based casino or make a pari-mutuel wager, you’ll need to be 21. The same goes for regulated sports betting.
Colorado Gambling Laws
Colorado gamblers must be 18 or older to play the lottery, make bingo bets, or engage in pari-mutuel wagering at horse tracks. If you want to play in land-based casinos or sportsbooks, you’ll need to be 21. Underage gamblers face stiff fines and criminal charges, so don’t break the law.
Colorado online gamblers have many options. Sports bettors can play using in-play sports betting apps from any of Colorado’s 16 online sportsbooks. They also can play at offshore online sportsbooks, poker sites, and casinos. The offshore gaming market has a lot of options, but only a handful of safe and fair gaming sites that we recommend. If you play at offshore gaming sites, read honest reviews and pick wisely.
Colorado Land-Based Casinos
Colorado has a lot of land-based casinos – 34 of them in all.
You’ll find 15 casinos in Black Hawk, 6 casinos in Central City, and 11 casinos in Cripple Creek. The towns of Ignacio and Towaoc each have one casino apiece.
Colorado Betting Tracks / Shops
Colorado has one horse track with pari-mutuel betting: Arapahoe Park in Aurora.
Beyond that, Colorado has 8 off-track betting facilities. You’ll find OTBs in each of the following Colorado cities: Arvada, Aurora, Colorado Springs, Denver, Fort Collins, Grand Junction, Greeley, and Pueblo.
Colorado Charitable Bingo
Colorado has many charitable bingo organizations that run their own bingo halls.
For instance, Arvada has the Bingo Company, while Aurora has Turn of the Century Bingo and Winner’s Bingo. If you’re in Denver, you can play at Barry’s Bingo or Turn II Bingo. Gamblers in Colorado Springs can play at Bingo World or Carefree Bingo, and so on.
Colorado Social Gaming Laws
Colorado allows people to host private home poker games, but the host cannot collect a poker rake.
In fact, the host of poker nights can play in the game and win poker stakes. If they collect a poker rake, though, the game is illegal and the organizer will be prosecuted. Legal poker games require two factors: (1) a bona fide social relationship and (2) no profit motive. The gamblers must have a social relationship outside of the game, while the organizer cannot have a profit motive.
Colorado Casino Nights
“Casino nights” are strictly regulated. For gambling to occur, three factors must be present: consideration, chance, and reward. The Colorado Department of Revenue clarifies these factors as “payment, luck, and prize”. If these three things exist at a poker night, then it’s considered gambling and therefore illegal.
Colorado Online Gambling Laws
Colorado online gamblers need to be 18 in order to play, but face few other restrictions. Here’s the big overview.