Last week, Gov. Jared Polis signed SB26-131 into law, aimed at enhancing consumer protections when it comes to Colorado sports betting. Bettors will see these changes take place on August 12, unless a referendum petition delays it.
What Changes for Colorado Bettors
The two main areas the new law impacts are in relation to account deposits and marketing restrictions on the operator side. Bettors will no longer be able to fund their account using credit cards and will also be limited to six separate deposits during a "gaming day". A gaming day is a continuous 24-hour period set by the operator for tax and reporting purposes, so the cap is not necessarily tied to midnight-to-midnight on the calendar.
Operators cannot accept credit card deposits directly or indirectly, including through an account funded by a credit card. An example of "indirect" funding would be if you tied a credit card to an e-Wallet, and then tried making a deposit through that account. A violation is treated as a class 2 misdemeanor under the new statute.
The marketing restriction may be the most visible change for app users. Licensed sports betting apps cannot send mobile push notifications, alerts, or text messages to Colorado account holders if those messages are used to solicit bets or deposits.
Sportsbooks and marketing affiliates also cannot target people under 21 or create advertising clearly meant for an under-21 audience. Betting sites are also barred from advertising through media where the majority of the audience is reasonably expected to be under 21.
The Colorado Limited Gaming Control Commission will handle enforcement. Violations can lead to penalties of up to $25,000, and operators may also face broader commission discipline depending on the conduct.
What Did Not Make it Into the Final Law
SB26-131 is still a significant consumer-protection bill, but the version Polis signed was narrower than the one first introduced.
The original bill would have capped bettors at five deposits in a 24-hour period. The final version changed that to six deposits per gaming day.
Lawmakers also stripped out a proposed ban on sportsbook operators limiting certain customers simply for being "winning" bettors. That provision would have taken direct aim at account restrictions and bet limits, a long-running complaint from sharper bettors.
The first version also included a broad ban on prop bets. That language did not survive, and Colorado betting apps can still offer game and player props under the final law.
Advertising language was also scaled back. The initial language would have barred sportsbook ads from including enhanced payouts from sportsbook promos or instructions on how to place a bet. It also would have banned sports betting ads from 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. and during live sports broadcasts. The final law does not go that far.
Instead, the enacted version focuses on three main areas: no credit card deposits, no push notifications or texts soliciting bets or deposits, and no advertising targeted at people under 21.
That matters for bettors because the final law changes how sportsbooks can fund accounts and market to users, but it does not overhaul the state's betting menu or ban major bet types.
