Colorado votes yes on betting referendum
State votes to legalize sports betting by a 3.7% margin after ballots were recounted
Colorado has voted to legalize sports betting in the state by a 3.7% margin.
The results of last night’s Proposition DD public referendum were finalized with 53.68% of the 1.4 million turnout voting in favour of betting.
Many industry stakeholders criticized the wording of the ballot which asked whether a betting industry should be established via a 10% tax rate on net revenue.
It also proposed increasing state taxes by $29m annually to fund state water projects, which the industry said was confusing to voters.
Lawyer Dan Wallach said the unclear wording likely confused many voters.
“If this measure fails, will lawmakers go the more conventional route next year and authorize via legislation? Colorado Attorney General said that they could,” Wallach said on Twitter.
https://twitter.com/CKrafcik/status/1192118127473111041
CEO for PointsBet, which established a base in Colorado this year, told EGR: “Our intel was that Proposition DD was a genuine 50/50 chance of passing mainly due to the wording of the ballot initiative but never would we have thought it would literally be this close.
“We are ready with our team based in Colorado to be the premier sports betting operator in this sports-loving market, touch wood the late rally for the Yes vote makes that a reality from 2020,” Johnny Aitken said.
The ballots were recounted after the first count saw Yes win by a small margin of 0.48%.
The new betting law is likely to be passed in May 2020, with the state’s Division of Gaming now tasked with establishing legislation.
State House majority leader Patrick Neville previously told the house a legalized retail and online industry in the state could generate annual profits of $290m, with $29m to go towards Colorado’s water fund.