PointsBet, Double Eagle Casino Ink Partnership, Wagering Colorado Will Approve Sports Gambling

Posted on: July 31, 2019, 01:51h. 

Last updated on: August 1, 2019, 01:07h.

Todd Shriber @etfgodfather Read More

Expertise: Financial, Gaming Business, Mergers and Acquisitions.

The Double Eagle Hotel and Casino in Cripple Creek, Colo. and sportsbook operator PointsBet announced a pact that will have the Australian company manage the gaming property’s retail and mobile sports betting platforms.

The gaming company and the casino operator are making their own bet that Colorado will approve sports betting. Colorado’s Democratic-controlled state legislature recently pushed legislation that was signed into by Gov. Jared Polis, also a Democrat, that allows for the inclusion of Proposition DD on the November 2019 ballot. Prop DD gives the state’s voters the opportunity to decide the fate of sports betting.

PointsBet, is showing commitment to the Colorado market. The company said Wednesday it is opening a US headquarters in downtown Denver in October that will serve as its “western base of operations.”

Policymakers in the Centennial State are angling for a 10 percent tax on sports wagers, which some politicians hope will reduce funding shortfalls in the state’s water budget.

The sportsbook operation is contingent upon electoral approval by the Colorado voters in the November 2019 election, and is subject to regulatory approvals from the Colorado Division of Gaming,” according to a statement issued by Double Eagle and PointsBet.

PointsBet, shares of which started trading on the Australian Stock Exchange last month, and DoubleEagle will work together to build a brick-and-mortar sportsbook in Cripple Creek and proceed with mobile betting when that is approved by the state.

Making Moves

PointsBet’s Colorado overtures are the latest in a series of moves by the company aimed at fortifying its presence in the US. The company’s first US sportsbook was an online offering launched in New Jersey in January.

PointsBet also has an agreement in place with New York’s Tioga Downs and is waiting on the Empire State to sign off on mobile betting. The company also has an agreement with Hawthorne Race Course in Illinois, whose governor signed an expanded gaming bill last month that legalized sports betting.

Colorado Call

The Double Eagle Hotel and Casino is an hour’s drive from Colorado Springs and about two hours away from Denver, the state’s largest city. While gaming companies are eager to bring sports betting to Colorado, some politicians there are cautioning voters to not expect a major revenue windfall even if the activity is approved. Estimates range from $10 million to $20 million in annual tax receipts for the state from sports wagering.

Even if the state approves Prop DD, some events will not be available to gamblers, including non-professional e-sports contests and prop bets on college basketball and football games. If Prop DD passes, Colorado is expected to start collecting sports gambling tax revenue in May 2020.

Colorado’s casinos have gross gaming revenue (GGR) of $842.1 million in 2018, up from $828 million in 2017, according to the American Gaming Association.