- Colorado Attorney General John Suthers has issued a legal opinion that lawmakers cannot expand gaming within the state to include online gaming.
- “I conclude that a constitutional amendment is the only lawful means by which to expand limited gaming to include Online Gambling.”
- The Colorado General Assembly is unlikely to proceed with legislation against the advice of their Attorney General, so online gaming will probably have to await a constitutional amendment approved in a statewide vote.
Colorado Attorney General John Suthers has issued a legal opinion that lawmakers cannot expand gaming within the state to include online gaming. Under the state constitution, John Suthers says they do not have the power:
I conclude that a constitutional amendment is the only lawful means by which to expand limited gaming to include Online Gambling.
The constitution provides a general prohibition on games of chance but an amendment in 1990 allowed for “limited gaming” in the three districts: Central, Black Hawk and Cripple Creek. Poker was ruled to be a game of chance by the Colorado Supreme Court, but it is included in the list of permissible games.
But “limited” really is limited: the constitution includes a provision that the games must be conducted in “structures which conform …to the architectural styles and designs that were common to the areas prior to World War I.”
Additional limitations which Suthers identifies in forming his opinion include the requirement to be physically present when placing a bet. He adds that “the location of the server or other hardware or software that determines the outcome of the bet would also be relevant to the permissibility of any online gambling under Colorado law.”
However, not all experts agree with Suthers’ rationale. In 2012, Seton Hall law professor John B. Wefing concluded that as long as the servers handling the wagers for online gambling are located in Atlantic City, there is no conflict with the state constitution that requires all gaming take place within the borders of the city.
According to Wefing, “The legislation that requires that the Internet servers be located in Atlantic City satisfies the spirit of the constitutional requirement that casino gaming be allowed only in Atlantic City.”
The Colorado General Assembly is unlikely to proceed with legislation against the advice of their Attorney General, so online gaming will probably have to await a constitutional amendment approved in a statewide vote.
