Colorado Sweepstakes Casino Online: How Does Colorado Gaming Laws Work & Is It Legal To Play Real Money Online Casino in CO?

Is it legal to play at online casinos in Colorado?

Online casinos are illegal in Colorado under state and federal laws. The Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act, signed into law in October 2006 under President Bush, paved the way for many states to introduce strict restrictions on any type of online gambling activity that are unauthorized in the state. So if you are looking for real money online casinos in Colorado with no deposit bonuses, you won’t find one as of now.

Colorado has a pretty extensive legal code when it comes to regulating gaming and gambling in the state. The Colorado Limited Gaming Act With Constitutional Amendment (DR 9100) is a comprehensive document that outlines Colorado’s policy towards gaming and gambling activities in the state.

The legal code clearly states:

“All establishments where limited gaming is conducted and where gambling devices are operated and all manufacturers, sellers, and distributors of certain gambling devices and equipment must therefore be licensed, controlled, and assisted to protect the public health, safety, good order, and the general welfare of the inhabitants of the state to foster the stability and success of limited gaming and to preserve the economy and policies of free competition of the state of Colorado;”

The need for regulations led the state also to create the Colorado Limited Gaming Control Commission, which regulates all “licensing, conducting, and operating of limited gaming and sports betting as it deems necessary to carry out the purposes of this article 30.”

However, there are many forms of gambling besides online casinos in Colorado that are legal.  Let’s take a look at what those are in the section below.

What is the history of gambling legislation in Colorado?

Colorado has had an interesting history when it comes to gambling.

Let’s take a look below at how this landscape has evolved:

So while you won't find real money online casinos in Colorado with no deposit bonuses, you will find land-based casinos that you can go to and place bets. However, they won’t have no-deposit bonuses either, since that’s typically a feature of social and sweepstakes casinos in Colorado.

Is it legal to play at sweepstakes casinos in Colorado?

If you have seen a bunch of ads for Colorado sweepstakes casinos, you must be wondering: How are sweepstakes coins legal if online casinos are illegal in Colorado?

Firstly, yes, sweepstakes casinos are legal in the state as long as they operate according to sweepstakes casino laws in Colorado. Secondly, the reason they are legal and online casinos are not is because of the unique framework within which they operate.

You can play at sweepstakes casinos for free without having to make a purchase or deposit, and you can play games of chance on the site. These features differentiate sweepstakes casinos from online casinos in the state of Colorado. Here are some of the Colorado sweepstakes rules that brands need to keep in mind when operating in the state:

• No Gambling Activity: Players should not be using any real money to play on sweepstakes casinos, since that would classify the activity as gambling. So they have to use virtual currencies like Gold Coins and Sweepstakes Coins to play the various games on the site.
• Prize Redemption: All sweepstakes that promise a prize to the winner should display their rules and regulations before the game is started. The prizes that players usually win by redeeming their Sweepstakes Coins on the site range from cash prizes to gift cards.

Colorado sweepstakes have been around for a while and now the online sweepstakes casino boom is opening up new opportunities for Colorado residents to access sweepstakes games like slots, card games, and live dealer games from the comfort of their home.

Do sweepstakes casinos operating in the state of Colorado need to be licensed?

Since sweepstakes casinos operate within a different regulatory framework, they are not authorized and licensed by the Colorado Limited Gaming Control Commission, the same way as online sportsbooks and land-based casinos need to be licensed.

Given the lack of licensing, it has become increasingly important to determine whether a new sweepstakes site you are on is legitimate or not. If you are struggling with this assessment, I have explored ways to ascertain the legitimacy of a sweepstakes site in the section below.

How do you identify which sweepstakes casinos are legit?

Given the lack of online casinos in Colorado, several sweepstakes sites are popping up in the state. Therefore, it is super important to make sure you are signing up and playing on a legitimate site. You don’t want to have your local law enforcement send you a notice for a gambling felony now, do you?

To make sure the sweepstakes site is legitimate, here are a few things you can look for.

What potential future updates on online casinos in Colorado can the people expect?

The future of iGaming legalizations in Colorado is pretty uncertain and there hasn’t been any substantial legislation that would point towards that being a possibility. Here are my thoughts on what to expect in the future:

1. Looking back at 2023 conversations:  Back in July 2023, the director of Colorado’s Office of State Planning and Budgeting mentioned that they were having internal talks about iGaming legalization. Since then, there hasn’t been much movement on this topic but experts believe internal talks are ongoing and there is a fair amount of willingness among political entities to legalize online casinos in Colorado.
2. Voter behavior in the past indicates willingness: Back in November 2019, Colorado voters approved Proposition DD to legalize sports betting and tax sportsbook operators in the state. Given the shifting public sentiment around gambling and online gaming specifically, it's not unrealistic to expect voter support for any major legislation around iGaming.

While there haven't been any major political moves in Colorado in 2024 to legalize iGaming, I am hoping that in the next few years, the state might overturn the ban and pave the way for online gambling legalization in the state.

No-deposit bonus playthrough requirements in Colorado

If you are looking to play free casino games online without breaking the law, sweepstakes casinos are your best bet in Colorado. You will typically find several no-deposit bonuses at Sweepstakes Casinos; however, they do come with certain playthrough requirements.

For example, if you wanted to open an account on High 5 Casino to claim their no-deposit welcome bonus of 5 free SC, along with 250 Game Coins and 600 Diamonds, you will not be able to immediately redeem the SC coins from the site. You will have to play with your SC coins once before they are eligible for redemption.

Below, I have put together a comprehensive list of some of the best no-deposit bonuses for Colorado sweepstakes, along with their playthrough requirements.