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SB26-163 • 2026

Regulation of Gaming & Sports Betting

Under current law, the Colorado limited gaming control commission (commission), at its discretion, may delegate only certain licensing duties described under the 'Limited Gaming Act of 1991' (gaming a

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Enacted

This bill passed the Legislature and reached final enactment based on the latest official action.

Sponsor
Sen. D. Roberts, Rep. L. Smith, Sen. J. Coleman, Sen. C. Kipp, Sen. J. Marchman, Sen. M. Snyder, Rep. M. Duran, Rep. E. Sirota, Rep. B. Titone
Last action
2026-05-29
Official status
Governor Signed
Effective date
Not listed

Plain English Breakdown

Using official source text because the generated explanation was unavailable or could not be confirmed against the official bill text.

Regulation of Gaming & Sports Betting

Under current law, the Colorado limited gaming control commission (commission), at its discretion, may delegate only certain licensing duties described under the 'Limited Gaming Act of 1991' (gaming act) to the division of gaming (division).

What This Bill Does

  • Under current law, the Colorado limited gaming control commission (commission), at its discretion, may delegate only certain licensing duties described under the 'Limited Gaming Act of 1991' (gaming act) to the division of gaming (division).
  • The act allows the commission to delegate to the division licensing duties that appear elsewhere in the gaming act.
  • The act authorizes investigators of the division and their supervisors to inspect, examine, investigate, hold, or impound any premises in the state where an investigator or supervisor suspects that unlicensed gaming or unlicensed sports betting is conducted.
  • Under current law, the division is required to operate a program that allows individuals to voluntarily exclude themselves from gaming activities in the state.

Limits and Unknowns

  • This entry is temporarily using official source text because the generated explanation could not be confirmed against the official bill text during the last sync.

Amendments

These notes stay tied to the official amendment files and metadata from the legislature.

L.009

HOU Finance

Passed [*]

Plain English: SB163_L.009 HOUSE COMMITTEE OF REFERENCE AMENDMENT Committee on Finance.

  • SB163_L.009 HOUSE COMMITTEE OF REFERENCE AMENDMENT Committee on Finance.
  • SB26-163 be amended as follows: 1 Amend reengrossed bill, page 1, strike lines 102 through 104 and 2 substitute "STATE, AND, IN CONNECTION THEREWITH, EXPANDING THE 3 SCOPE OF THE LICENSING DUTIES".
  • ** *** ** *** ** LLS: Richard Sweetman x4333
L.010

HOU Finance

Passed [*]

Plain English: SB163_L.010 HOUSE COMMITTEE OF REFERENCE AMENDMENT Committee on Finance.

  • SB163_L.010 HOUSE COMMITTEE OF REFERENCE AMENDMENT Committee on Finance.
  • SB26-163 be amended as follows: 1 Amend reengrossed bill, page 17, strike line 21 and substitute 2 "occupational license, or a support occupational license, A MAJOR 3 BUSINESS LICENSE, A MINOR BUSINESS LICENSE, OR AN OUT-OF-STATE 4 ADVANCED DEPOSITS WAGERING LICENSE granted pursuant".
  • 5 Page 18, strike lines 10 through 24 and substitute "FINGERPRINTS TO THE 6 COLORADO BUREAU OF INVESTIGATION.
  • THE COLORADO BUREAU OF 7 INVESTIGATION, ACTING AS THE STATE IDENTIFICATION BUREAU, SHALL 8 FORWARD THE FINGERPRINTS TO THE FEDERAL BUREAU OF INVESTIGATION 9 FOR THE PURPOSE OF CONDUCTING A NATIONAL FINGERPRINT-BASED 10 CRIMINAL HISTORY RECORD CHECK TO ENSURE APPLICANT ELIGIBILITY, 11 PROTECT PUBLIC SAFETY, AND MAINTAIN THE INTEGRITY OF LICENSED 12 PROFESSIONS.
L.001

SEN Finance

Passed [*]

Plain English: SB163_L.001 SENATE COMMITTEE OF REFERENCE AMENDMENT Committee on Finance.

  • SB163_L.001 SENATE COMMITTEE OF REFERENCE AMENDMENT Committee on Finance.
  • SB26-163 be amended as follows: 1 Amend printed bill, page 8, strike lines 26 and 27.
  • 2 Page 9, strike lines 1 through 6 and substitute: 3 "SECTION 4.
  • In Colorado Revised Statutes, 44-30-818, amend 4 (2) as follows: 5 44-30-818.
L.002

SEN Finance

Passed [*]

Plain English: SB163_L.002 SENATE COMMITTEE OF REFERENCE AMENDMENT Committee on Finance.

  • SB163_L.002 SENATE COMMITTEE OF REFERENCE AMENDMENT Committee on Finance.
  • SB26-163 be amended as follows: 1 Amend printed bill, page 16, after line 23 insert: 2 "SECTION 14.
  • In Colorado Revised Statutes, 44-32-503, amend 3 (4)(a) as follows: 4 44-32-503.
  • Rules of commission - licensing - record check.
L.003

SEN Finance

Passed [*]

Plain English: SB163_L.003 SENATE COMMITTEE OF REFERENCE AMENDMENT Committee on Finance.

  • SB163_L.003 SENATE COMMITTEE OF REFERENCE AMENDMENT Committee on Finance.
  • SB26-163 be amended as follows: 1 Amend printed bill, page 10, strike lines 6 through 27.
  • 2 Page 11, strike lines 1 through 14 and substitute: 3 "SECTION 6.
  • In Colorado Revised Statutes, amend 44-32-102 4 as follows: 5 44-32-102.
L.006

SEN Finance

Passed [*]

Plain English: SB163_L.006 SENATE COMMITTEE OF REFERENCE AMENDMENT Committee on Finance.

  • SB163_L.006 SENATE COMMITTEE OF REFERENCE AMENDMENT Committee on Finance.
  • SB26-163 be amended as follows: 1 Amend printed bill, page 3, strike lines 2 through 26.
  • 2 Strike pages 4 through 7.
  • 3 Page 8, strike lines 1 through 5.
L.007

SEN Finance

Passed [*]

Plain English: SB163_L.007 SENATE COMMITTEE OF REFERENCE AMENDMENT Committee on Finance.

  • SB163_L.007 SENATE COMMITTEE OF REFERENCE AMENDMENT Committee on Finance.
  • SB26-163 be amended as follows: 1 Amend proposed committee amendment (SB163_L.003), page 2, strike 2 lines 30 through 37 and substitute: 3 "(4) (11) "Commission" means the Colorado racing commission 4 created in part 3 of this article 32.
  • 5 (5) Repealed.
  • 6 (6) (12) "Director" means the director of the division of racing 7 events.
L.008

SEN Finance

Passed [*]

Plain English: SB163_L.008 SENATE COMMITTEE OF REFERENCE AMENDMENT Committee on Finance.

  • SB163_L.008 SENATE COMMITTEE OF REFERENCE AMENDMENT Committee on Finance.
  • SB26-163 be amended as follows: 1 Amend printed bill, page 11, strike lines 15 through 27.
  • 2 Strike pages 12 through 16.
  • 3 Page 17, strike lines 1 through 4.

Bill History

  1. 2026-05-29 Governor

    Governor Signed

  2. 2026-05-20 Governor

    Sent to the Governor

  3. 2026-05-20 House

    Signed by the Speaker of the House

  4. 2026-05-20 Senate

    Signed by the President of the Senate

  5. 2026-05-08 Senate

    Senate Considered House Amendments - Result was to Concur - Repass

  6. 2026-05-06 House

    House Third Reading Passed - No Amendments

  7. 2026-05-05 House

    House Second Reading Special Order - Passed with Amendments - Committee

  8. 2026-05-04 House

    House Committee on Finance Refer Amended to House Committee of the Whole

  9. 2026-04-27 House

    Introduced In House - Assigned to Finance

  10. 2026-04-27 Senate

    Senate Third Reading Passed - No Amendments

  11. 2026-04-24 Senate

    Senate Second Reading Passed with Amendments - Committee

  12. 2026-04-21 Senate

    Senate Committee on Finance Refer Amended to Senate Committee of the Whole

  13. 2026-04-15 Senate

    Introduced In Senate - Assigned to Finance

Official Summary Text

Under current law, the Colorado limited gaming control commission (commission), at its discretion, may delegate only certain licensing duties described under the 'Limited Gaming Act of 1991' (gaming act) to the division of gaming (division). The act allows the commission to delegate to the division licensing duties that appear elsewhere in the gaming act.
The act authorizes investigators of the division and their supervisors to inspect, examine, investigate, hold, or impound any premises in the state where an investigator or supervisor suspects that unlicensed gaming or unlicensed sports betting is conducted.
Under current law, the division is required to operate a program that allows individuals to voluntarily exclude themselves from gaming activities in the state. The act expands the program to allow individuals to voluntarily exclude themselves from sports betting in the state.
The act clarifies the definition of 'race meet' for purposes of the regulation of racing events. The act also adds other definitions of terms used in laws concerning gaming.
The act states that a designee of the director is a peace officer while engaged in the performance of their duties whose primary authority includes the enforcement of all laws of the state.
Current law prohibits a licensee from offering certain games without acquiring prior approval from the commission. The act changes this requirement so that a licensee must acquire prior approval from the division.
The act clarifies the process by which the commission and the Colorado bureau of investigation conduct fingerprint-based criminal background checks of applicants for gaming licenses.
(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)