The Director of the Division of Gaming of the Colorado Department of Revenue requested an opinion from Colorado Attorney General John W. Suthers as to whether internet gaming could be implemented under current Colorado law. Although Attorney General Suthers' opinion, dated December 13, concluded that an amendment to the Colorado Constitution would be necessary to authorize internet gaming, the Attorney General did not identify any other legal impediments to internet gaming in Colorado. Thus, it is certainly possible that we may soon see Colorado as a player as US internet gambling expands incrementally on a state-by-state basis.
The Colorado legislature has been discussing an internet gaming bill, thus leading to the request for an opinion from the Attorney General. The Attorney General construed the Colorado Constitution's authorization of limited gaming narrowly, opining that it extends to "traditional, casino-style gaming involving physically present patrons at specified locations." As a result, the Attorney General opined that a constitutional amendment would be necessary to expand this authorization of gambling to include internet.
The Attorney General also addressed the question that has come up in other states that have implemented internet gaming - namely, the location where the bet is deemed place. The Attorney General concluded -- contrary to New Jersey's conclusion -- that a bet is placed where the bettor is located, not where the bet is received. (New Jersey's internet legislation deems all wagers placed where they are accepted, which necessarily must be on a server located in an Atlantic City casino.) The Attorney General concluded, however, that the location where the bet is accepted is also relevant to the question of whether the internet bet is legal. The Attorney General opined that both the bettor and the device used for acceptance of the bet would need to be in a location that was constitutionally authorized.
This opinion essentially acts as a blueprint to the Colorado legislature, should it decide to implement intrastate internet gaming.
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