Many people that were very involved in getting a sports betting bill passed into law in Colorado don’t want it to launch during a sports blackout. There were very elaborate plans for the sports betting roll out in Colorado.
Several professional athletes from the Denver Broncos and the Colorado Rockies were set to participate. The initial projected launch date of May 1 is still when sports betting will launch.
According to new reporting in Westword, a small independent newspaper in Denver, all sides of this equation are trying to do what is best for everyone. Colorado went to the polls in November of 2019 and had the opportunity to approve the sports betting bill that was on the ballot.
By a large majority, the bill passed and was signed into law by the Governor in early 2020. There had been continuous back and forth by opponents of sports betting and advocates that vigorously argued for it. Voters were mostly swayed for passing the bill due to where the revenues were scheduled to go.
Set To Fund The State’s Controversial Water Plan
Many sports betting experts presumed that sports betting in Colorado was going to be wildly successful. Colorado borders with other states that do not have legalized sports betting like Oklahoma, Arizona, Utah, Wyoming, Kansas, Missouri and New Mexico.
Only the land of Enchantment, New Mexico, has any type of sports betting. This is a big reason why several sports betting analysts predicted that Colorado, the first state to legalize recreational marijuana, would do very well with sports betting.
Many residents in other nearby states were expected to cross state lines to place their sports bets. That is still the prediction; however, the sports blackout, for the immediate present time, throws a monkey wrench into the narrative.
Some have protested any sports betting rollout while the people of Colorado are in a total and complete lockdown. The figures that were revealed as far as sports betting profits in Colorado were massive. It was estimated that the state could bring in $6 billion in total revenue.
Predictions Will Not Come To Fruition Immediately
Due to the unprecedented number of professional sports shut down, any initial predictions that were made will not be anywhere close to the eventual numbers. To draw a comparison, Nevada sports betting handle brought in $5.2 billion in 2019, and Colorado was expected to bring in a lot more than Nevada.
Those that want the launch to proceed as scheduled said on Wednesday that there will be events for players to bet on. The reason being is that Colorado’s sports betting bill allows for online sports betting as well as sports betting in physical locations.
There are several different eSports events that the Colorado sportsbook will offer. Major League Baseball also announced that they might start up again in May with all teams playing in Arizona, so things are looking up for sports and sports betting.
