Colorado sports betting: Legal online for 21+, with new deposit and ad limits in force

Yes, sports betting is legal in Colorado, both online and in person, for adults 21 and over. You can sign up for any of about a dozen state-licensed sportsbook apps anywhere inside state lines, or bet at the counter of a casino sportsbook in Black Hawk, Central City or Cripple Creek. What has changed this year is how those books are allowed to treat you. A new law and a tax change both took effect over the summer, and the first NBA season under them is now underway.

Our full Colorado guide covers the history, the regulators and the list of licensed operators. This story covers what is new as of Nov. 10, 2026, the latest date this site has reviewed Colorado's rules.

What SB26-131 changed

Senate Bill 26-131 took effect Aug. 12, 2026. It changes the everyday experience on Colorado sportsbook apps in four ways:

• No credit card deposits. You can still fund an account with a debit card, bank transfer or other approved methods, but not a credit card.
• A cap of six deposits a day per account.
• No texts or push notifications urging you to bet. Account and security messages are still allowed. Promotional nudges are not.
• No advertising aimed at audiences under 21.

Nuggets fans who used the apps last season will notice the change most on game nights, when promotional alerts used to arrive. Those alerts are now banned for state-licensed books.

The tax change behind the scenes

A separate change took effect July 1. Colorado sportsbooks can no longer subtract free bets and promotional credits from the revenue on which they pay the state's 10% tax. Most of that tax money goes to the Colorado Water Plan. Books that leaned on free-bet giveaways to sign up customers now pay tax on more of their revenue. That gives operators a reason to cut back on promotions, so the offers you see may be smaller than in past seasons.

Who regulates what

The Colorado Division of Gaming licenses and polices sportsbooks under rules set by the Limited Gaming Control Commission. Every online license is tied to one of the mountain-town casinos. That framework dates to Proposition DD, which voters approved in November 2019, and to HB19-1327. Legal wagering began May 1, 2020.

Prediction markets sit outside that system. Exchanges regulated by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, including Novig, Kalshi and Polymarket US, are available in Colorado. On these exchanges you take a position on a sports outcome at a price set by other traders, not by a house. Colorado has not ordered these platforms out of the state and has not sued them. The Division of Gaming has said it is watching court cases in other states. This spring, Attorney General Phil Weiser joined other state attorneys general in telling the CFTC that sports event contracts belong under state law.

One practical point: SB26-131's deposit caps and marketing limits apply to state-licensed sportsbooks. They do not apply to the federally regulated exchanges. As of this review, nothing has changed that.

What is not allowed

You must be 21 to bet with a licensed Colorado sportsbook. You must be physically inside Colorado to place a bet on a state-licensed app. Offshore sites that are not licensed by the Division of Gaming are not legal options. Colorado does not license them, and they offer none of the state's consumer protections.

Where things stand

For Nuggets fans, the rules this season are simple. You can bet legally on the apps and at the casino counters if you are 21 or older and inside the state. The apps can no longer take credit cards, take more than six deposits a day, or send promotional alerts. Whether Colorado moves against prediction markets depends largely on how courts elsewhere rule. For team coverage, see our Denver Nuggets page.

If gambling stops being fun, call 1-800-GAMBLER for free, confidential help.