If you followed the passing of Colorado’s Amendment 77 late last year, it might please you to know that City Council members of gambling towns have now elected to increase betting limits and allow new games. Amendment 77 allows cities to opt-out of the $100 betting cap along with the inclusion of new games, as long as the titles were accepted by the Limited Gaming Control Commission (LGCC).
A so-called Las Vegas-style casino gaming is expected to join Black Hawk, Cripple Creek, and Central City in the spring of 2021 following the approval of amendment 77 obtained by Colorado voters in November of last year.
Colorado will now give unlimited single bet wagers, appealing to the higher limit crowd. New games may also be introduced to casinos, with players considering pai gow poker, baccarat, keno, and other games. Officials in Central City and Cripple Creek have completed similar approvals, allowing each gambling city to provide new services, based on the language of the amendment by May 1st.
The changes make it possible for the state of Colorado to become more competitive with other states providing legal gambling.
According to Jessica Feil, leader of the American Gaming Association, there were only bet limits in Colorado and South Dakota until the vote took place. Now, gambling cities in the state are taking measures to take on new opportunities, with city councils in Cripple Creek and Central City following Black Hawk’s suit and recently taking action to raise the bet limits and allow new casino games to be offered there. Officials started cleaning up the language of gambling law last month from the constitution, eliminating references where $100 bet limits are addressed. As far as new games are concerned, operators will need to send details of what they plan to sell to the Commission. The approval must be granted before any new games can be added to the casino floor.
This Is Not A Game Changer
With the change in the betting limit and new game additions as a big deal to poker players in Colorado, operators are saying this will not be a game-changer.
The cities of Colorado would not turn into the Vegas Strip. Ameristar Casino Resort and Spa Managing Director Sean Demeule commented that this is not a game-changer for the venue in the sense that the sales are not projected to rise by hundreds of millions per year. It does, however, allow for more equality with neighboring states. Casinos are looking forward to keeping residents from traveling out of state to gamble and hope tourists choose their gambling towns as vacation spots. For tourists, Denver is a hot spot when it comes to Las Vegas travel. As the gambling changes come into effect later this year, operators hope that travelers using Denver consider visiting their venues.
Some experts claim that Las Vegas-style gambling is likely to be found appealing to some of the residents of Colorado, especially those living in the metro area. Analysts, however, remain worried about the possible negative effects for residents impacted by gambling-related illegal activity.
