Colorado Senate Passes Sports Betting Reform Bill Without Prop Bet Ban

Colorado lawmakers have moved a sports betting reform bill to the House after scaling back one of its toughest provisions. Senate Bill 26-131 passed the Senate 20-14 and now faces a tight timeline before the session ends in May.

Good to Know

• Colorado Senate approved Senate Bill 26-131 by a 20-14 vote.
• The bill would limit online sportsbook users to five deposits in any 24-hour period.
• Lawmakers removed a proposed prop bet ban after revenue concerns and industry opposition.

Colorado Keeps Core Betting Limits But Drops Prop Bet Ban

Colorado sports betting operators avoided the sharpest restriction in Senate Bill 26-131, but the industry still faces a tougher rulebook if the House approves the measure.

An earlier version would have banned proposition bets, which let users wager on individual parts of a game, including player statistics. Supporters linked the fast pace of those wagers to compulsive gambling concerns. However, lawmakers removed the provision before the final Senate vote after sportsbooks warned it would cut millions from state tax revenue.

Budget pressure changed the shape of the bill. Colorado sports betting now handles more than $6 billion in annual wagers, up from roughly $1 billion after the market opened. The state collects about $30 million a year from the sector, with revenue directed to water projects.

After the prop bet ban came out, the projected revenue loss dropped from $2.6 million to around $800,000. The remaining hit mostly comes from a proposed ban on using credit cards for sports betting.

DraftKings, FanDuel, BetMGM, bet365 and the Sports Betting Alliance lobbied against the bill, according to state lobbying records. Bill sponsor Rep. Matt Ball said reform supporters faced a spending gap against operators with far larger financial resources.

Even without the prop bet ban, the bill still targets several sportsbook practices tied to gambling harm. Online sportsbooks could not allow more than five deposits per user in a 24-hour period. Operators would also lose the ability to send push notifications or text messages designed to solicit bets or encourage account funding.

The measure also includes advertising limits and stronger penalties for accepting wagers from users under 21. Broadcasters continue to oppose parts of the advertising section.

The House now gets the next say. If lawmakers approve the bill before the session ends in May, Colorado would adopt its largest sports betting regulatory update since voters legalized the market seven years ago.