Constitutional Amendment for Internet Gambling in Colorado

According to the Attorney General, John Suthers, in order for internet gambling to be permitted within the state of Colorado, an amendment might have to be made to the Colorado Constitution. This statement was made on Friday and came as a response to Laura Manning’s request, who happens to be the Colorado Division of Gaming’s director. It has recently been reported that lawmakers within the state of Colorado are actually aiming to legalize internet gambling, particularly since three other U.S. states have done just that in the recent past.

Seeking Information to Permit Internet Gambling in Colorado

As the reports go, Manning was actually looking to the Attorney General as to how it might be possible to start the process of legalizing internet gambling in Colorado and this is where the issue involving the constitution arose. Manning was also looking for clarification on how they would regulate the location of the players to ensure that only those players within Colorado were able to access the sites. This is an issue that New Jersey, Las Vegas and Delaware are currently facing at the moment. The issue is whether to base the regulations on the actual location of the bettor, or the location of the server.

Suthers replied by saying that within the confines of Colorado law, the regulations would have to apply to bets that are placed where the individual is located, although the servers could hold some relevance with regards to the permissibility of the bets. The three states in which gambling is already legal have made it clear that they only allow gamblers who are physically based within their states.

Voter Approval Required to Legalize Internet Gambling

While the logistical issues are still in the air, Suthers has also commented on why it is that the constitution will need to be amended to pass the bill. As of this moment, the approval of online gambling might raise certain issues related to the Bill of Rights of the Taxpayer.

It seems that lawmakers within the state might have actually achieved a milestone earlier in the year when they drafted a bill that could have seen Internet Poker being authorized. At that point in time, it was decided that they wouldn’t go ahead with the measure, however, for various reasons. At this point, a legislature session could be put in place as soon as January and it is thought that during this time, lawmakers might once again try and push for the introduction of a bill that could lead to the legalization of gambling within this state.

While internet gambling has raised a few issues in the states in which it has been legalized, most are in agreement that it also comes with a range of tax-related benefits, which is one of the reasons many lawmakers are pushing for it. It remains to be seen what happens in early 2014 where Colorado and the legalization of online gambling is concerned.