Colorado Sports Betting to Launch Friday with DraftKings, FanDuel, ROAR Digital Despite No Sports

Colorado Sports Betting to Launch Friday with DraftKings, FanDuel, ROAR Digital Despite No Sports.

Costfoto / NurPhoto / Getty Images

Key Takeaways

Colorado gaming regulators have vowed to launch the state’s sports betting market this Friday, May 1 as planned. This is despite a lack of any sports to bet on and widespread uncertainty about when that might change.

Colorado sports bettingColorado casinos, such as those in Cripple Creek (pictured), may be closed currently, but four of their online partners are ready to go Friday. (Image: Colorado Springs Business Journal)

Dan Hartman, director of the state Division of Gaming, acknowledged to The Denver Post that it was a “slow time for sports.” But he vowed to press ahead.

“We’re really hoping to get through this and see the resurgence of the industry,” he said.

While launching in the current climate might be something of an anticlimax, the market could eventually become a big deal for .

PlayColorado analyst Dustin Gouker believes, once matured, it could be worth , handling $6 billion in bets each year.

Anticlimax?

Operators are required to partner with Colorado’s 35 land-based casinos to participate, which will make it a vibrant and competitive market when it gets into full swing.

But with each of those casinos currently shuttered because of the coronavirus, Friday’s debut will be a muted, online-only affair.

In due time, Colorado consumers will have their pick of 17 different online sports books, although only four FanDuel, DraftKings, , and MGM and GVC joint venture plan to launch on Friday, according to The Post.  

They’ll be hoping to earn some early-mover kudos, even if there will be little more than Belarusian soccer, Russian table tennis, and a smattering of Asian baseball on the menu.

Can Esports Fill the Void?

That’s in terms of traditional sports. Colorado’s sports betting rules also permit wagering on esports, provided the contests are sanctioned by a governing body and the participants are at least 18 years of age.

The esports segment has seen an uptick during lockdown in jurisdictions where it’s permitted. Esports betting solutions provider UltraPlay this week reported a 400 percent surge in wagering on competitive video gaming across all its platforms since March.

Colorado is one of the few US states to have specifically written esports wagering into its laws since US Supreme Court’s rejection of the federal prohibition on sports betting made state-by-state regulation possible.

and racetracks began generating odds on esports in November last year, while at the same time, FanDuel became the first online sports book in the US to take bets on esports contests.

If ever there were an opportunity for sports books to explore the potential of esports betting in a completely new market, here it is.

No Kentucky Derby

In the meantime, despite future potential, Colorado’s Q1 sports betting figures are not expected to blow anyone away.

May 1 was presumably chosen as a launch date because it would have been the Kentucky Derby weekend. That has now been postponed until early September.

But May, June, and July are typically the slowest months on the US sporting calendar anyway.

Launching in the spring will allow sportsbooks to build marketing, sign-up customers, and tweak their offerings in preparation for the big one, the NFL season which may or may not start in September.

Article Sources
Grand Lisboa Palace Requests 500 Table Games From Macau Regulators editorial policy.
  1. Analysts: Macau Casinos Won’t Benefit From HKZM Bridge Linking Hong Kong

Compare Accounts
×
Las Vegas MLB Rumor Mill Churning Out New Speculation, Investors Working to Bring City Pro Team
Provider
Name
Description
Fix Is In: FOBT Betting Change Delayed as UK Bookmakers and Treasury Strike Backroom Deal  Feds Raid Home of Atlantic City Mayor Frank Gilliam One Week Before Scheduled Court Appearance for Casino Brawl  Singapore Summit Success: Donald Trump, Kim Jong Un Kiss and Make Up, Sheldon Adelson’s Marina Bay Sands Hosts North Korean Leader in Singapore  Las Vegas Strip Revenues Impacted by Bumped Up Resort and Parking Fees in 2018  Casino Tycoon Sheldon Adelson Threatens to Cut Off Republican Party Following Midterm Losses  Outgoing AGA Chief Geoff Freeman Says Gaming Going ‘Mainstream’ Critical to Lobbying Efforts  Japan Casino Bill Passed by Lower House as All Hell Breaks Loose on Committee Floor: Not a Done Deal Yet  Sportsbooks Make Millions on Miami Miracle  New York State Sports Betting Push Moving Forward, But How Far Can It Go in a Week?  Caesars Entertainment Exec Jan Jones Blackhurst Predicts Company Will Win Japan License