Online Casinos in Colorado

At the present time, the Centennial State’s legislature has not chosen to legalize online casinos. Although citizens within Colorado’s state lines are permitted to play online casino games at “social casinos” for prizes, real-money online casinos are still off-limits – at least for the time being.

Lawmakers in Colorado sought to legalize daily fantasy sports (DFS) in 2016 and a sports betting bill was passed in 2019, approving retail and online sports betting throughout the state. With that in mind, it’s highly likely the state’s senate will soon weigh up the pros and cons of launching a regulated iGaming sector too.

In terms of the status of online casinos in Colorado, it remains 100% illegal to serve citizens in the Centennial State. There is nothing to prevent users from logging in and playing with an offshore operator. However, players that use offshore sites have no legal recourse if they experience issues when playing at an unregulated online casino.

There is no defined timeline for the legalization of online casinos in Colorado. However, the state’s lawmakers will be watching the growth of online sports betting with keen interest since its launch in 2019. It’s possible an iGaming bill, complete with regulated and licensed operators, would yield further tax revenue for the state’s economy.

Any future iGaming industry in Colorado would likely be regulated and licensed by the Colorado Gaming Division, which operates as part of the Colorado Department of Revenue. It currently regulates sports betting, social gambling, and DFS, with online casino gambling almost certain to be taken under its wing in the future.

It’s difficult to ascertain how the make-up of the Colorado iGaming scene will look, if legalized. In terms of licenses, many of the active iGaming markets in the US today generally hand out anything between half a dozen and a dozen licenses to reputable operators. Each of which must pay and apply for a license in the formal channels, passing all the necessary compliance checks first.

Licenses will be issued in partnership with land-based casinos, with most participating casino resorts given at least one “skin” per venue. A skin is a partnered online casino brand. Some states currently permit multiple skins per venue, depending on how open their iGaming market is.

Licensed online casinos in Colorado may also be permitted to offer mobile casino gaming via native mobile apps. This is handled in other US states right now using geolocation technology, which guarantees the location of players within state lines before permitting them to create an account and log in.

Upon the launch of a legalized iGaming market in Colorado, we can expect to see plenty of welcome bonuses dished out by the first operators. All of which will be battling to attract your business. No-deposit bonuses are commonly awarded upon sign-up, while deposit match bonuses also give you additional bonus funds once you’ve authorized your first real-money deposit.

If you’re yet to experience everything an online casino has to offer, we’ve put together a brief rundown of the types of casino games offered in licensed markets elsewhere in the US right now:

With today’s consumers growing increasingly flexible in their choice of payment methods, the onus is on online casinos to follow suit. That’s why many of the licensed online casinos elsewhere in the US commit to offering a choice of conventional and next-generation payment options.

Aside from traditional bank wire transfers and debit or credit card payments, it’s also possible to use e-wallet accounts with sites like PayPal, Skrill, and Neteller. These sites offer the fastest option for withdrawals, with payments processed and cleared within 24 hours in most cases.

Some online casinos may also accept pre-paid cards or branded loyalty cards that allow users to withdraw funds in-person at partnered retail casinos.

Colorado’s land-based casino scene is one of the hottest in the US. In fact, there are more than 30 popular retail casinos located in prominent towns and cities, including Central City, Cripple Creek, and Black Hawk. All of these are state-licensed and regulated, in accordance with the legislature’s strict compliance requirements.

The most popular retail casinos in Colorado include:

It’s highly possible that the state will give existing retail casinos in Centennial State an opportunity to pitch for an iGaming license too. They may even get first refusal over the established iGaming operators from elsewhere in the US and offshore.