Next month, voters in the state of Colorado will decide if sports betting will become a way of life like it has for other parts of the United States. However, for residents of The Centennial State, it seems like sports betting could actually be a legitimate savior for their lifestyle.
Since the Colorado Water Plan passed in 2015, state leaders have looked for ways to fund any future water supply-and-demand situations that may arise. It appears like the state may have the answer it has been looking for over the last few years.
Illegal sports betting in the United States has an estimated range of $67 billion to $150 billion, and, of course, we have seen how many places in the country have capitalized from legal wagering. Not to mention, more states are starting to adopt the mobile feature, and that would make it more accessible for people to spend their money.
The big worry, though, is that some states with legalized sports betting have seen their projections fall well below where they thought they would be.
The expectations for Colorado’s revenue have been all over the place. Voters have been given informational packets prior to the upcoming election, and the most recent ones have the state projected to bring in $16 million per year until 2025. A nonpartisan financial review claims the revenue could be anywhere from $10 to $15 million within the first few years of legalization.
“In a state like Colorado, where we are constantly trying to find revenue to go towards key priorities that are woefully underfunded, I saw this as a way to generate some additional revenue that Colorado voters could get behind,” said Colorado House Majority Leader Alec Garnett.
Taking A Shot
Beginning in May 2020, Proposition DD – a statewide ballot question awaiting voters – is the proverbial shot in the dark that would allow existing casinos in the state to start taking no-limit bets on a variety of sports and those net proceeds would be taxed at 10 percent. The money from there would then go to the Colorado Water Conservation Board that would be distributed as grants to go along with the state’s water plans.
In these last few election cycles, Colorado voters haven’t wanted to put their favor towards bigger tax increases to fund education or transportation needs. Garnett is hoping that the sports-betting craze catches on with the same people that ruled in favor of legalizing marijuana.
While people are on both sides of the fence with activities such as marijuana use and sports betting, having clean water is something that everyone can agree is necessary. But one man doesn’t think that sports betting is the means to get there.
“The proposition supports water projects,” said Fort Collins activist Gary Wockner. “The projects are completely undefined and not specified. And so this is really kind of a blank check. Even though this is for just the gamblers at the beginning, it sets a terrible precedent that climate damage should be paid for by the public.”
Commerce City school administrator Chris Duran has a more rational thought.
“We got casinos,” said Duran. “Why not bring sports betting attached to it? We’re already halfway there. Let’s finish the game.”
