The year of 2020 was supposed to be a frontier taken on by lawmakers to get sports betting legalized in more states. Even though the COVID-19 outbreak is wreaking havoc on our lives, one state isn’t going to let its fun be ruined.
On Friday, Colorado went ahead and opened its casino and proverbial online doors for sports betting. It does come with a sense of failure, though, considering all U.S. sports are on hold due to the coronavirus.
It’ll take some time for the country to get back to normal, but for now, it just feels right to have the legalization process done and over with.
“It is indeed a different environment to launch sports betting then we initially anticipated,” said Suzanne Karrer, who works for the Colorado Department of Revenue‘s Enforcement Division.
“With that said, the Division is proud of the hard work and effort that went into establishing a robust sports betting industry in Colorado and excited for the launch on May 1, with four operators initially offering online options. We look forward to additional operators and offerings becoming available in the weeks and months ahead.”
In total, there are six online providers that are able to accept bets. However, only four of them will be ready at the start since two are experiencing technical difficulties.
Local Options
The state of Colorado is home to teams in all four of the major sports – MLB’s Colorado Rockies, the NBA’s Denver Nuggets, NFL’s Denver Broncos, and NHL’s Colorado Avalanche. Not to mention, the Colorado Rapids of the MLS also play there.
“It is our reality as regulators that we can get sports betting up and running for those that want to start right now, but the excitement of the industry for Colorado is overshadowed by what is going on in the world right now,” said Karrer. “There will be a right time for fanfare surrounding this new form of entertainment in Colorado, but right now is not that time.”
May 1 was supposed to be a huge day for Colorado residents, as they watched nearly all of its teams in action.
At the time when the NBA postponed its season, the Nuggets were currently the No. 3 seed in the Western Conference, and this weekend could have potentially been a Game 7 situation in the first round of the playoffs.
The Avalanche had the second-best record in the Western Conference and were assuredly aiming toward an appearance in the second round. In addition, the Rockies would have been starting up the second full month of baseball.
Eventually, things are going to get back to normal, and the great people of Colorado will have their time to fully embrace this new way of life. For now, all they can do is place a futures bet on their newly retooled Broncos to win the Super Bowl, AFC Conference title, or AFC West Division title. Not to mention, there are also markets for win totals or whether they make the playoffs or not.
