Colorado § 44-30-102 - Legislative declaration.

§ 44-30-102. Legislative declaration.

(1) The general assembly hereby finds, determines, and declares it to be the public policy of this state that:

(a) The success of limited gaming is dependent upon public confidence and trust that licensed limited gaming is conducted honestly and competitively; that the rights of the creditors of licensees are protected; and that gaming is free from criminal and corruptive elements;

(b) Public confidence and trust can be maintained only by strict regulation of all persons, locations, practices, associations, and activities related to the operation of licensed gaming establishments and the manufacture or distribution of gaming devices and equipment;

(c) 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;

(d) No applicant for a license or other affirmative commission approval has any right to a license or to the granting of the approval sought. Any license issued or other commission approval granted pursuant to the provisions of this article 30 is a revocable privilege, and no holder acquires any vested right therein or thereunder.

(2) It is the intent of the general assembly that, to achieve the goals set forth in subsection (1) of this section, the commission should place great weight upon the policies expressed in said subsection (1) in construing the provisions of this article 30.

(3) The general assembly further finds, determines, and declares that:

(a) When, in 2018, the United States supreme court held in Murphy v. National Collegiate Athletic Association, 138 S. Ct. 1461, that there existed no current federal impediment to an individual state's authority to legalize sports betting, but that such an effort was subject only to that state's own constitutional limits on that authority, Colorado had the option to expand the responsibilities of the limited gaming control commission created in this article 30 to include sports betting;

(b) Expansion of the commission's role in this way is appropriate, given the commission's experience in regulating limited gaming since 1991 and its track record of competent, evenhanded, and efficient discharge of the duties entrusted to it by Colorado's voters under section 9 of article XVIII of the state constitution;

(c) The general assembly intends, through passage of House Bill 19-1327, enacted in 2019, to incorporate sports betting seamlessly into the regulatory and taxing system established for limited gaming under this article 30 in a manner that honors the voters' intent in adopting section 9 of article XVIII of the state constitution and has done so through enactment of a referred measure requiring statewide approval;

(d) It is appropriate, and the general assembly intends, that after the incorporation of sports betting into this article 30 on May 1, 2020, no further expansion of sports betting nor authorization of any new or expanded class of licensees be made except with the approval of Colorado voters through legislation or constitutional amendments that are submitted to a statewide vote; and

(e) The success of sports betting is dependent upon public confidence and trust that activities related to sports betting are conducted honestly and competitively; that the rights of the creditors of licensees are protected; and that sports betting is free from criminal and corruptive elements. Public confidence and trust can be maintained only by strict regulation of sports betting.

Source: L. 2018: Entire article added with relocations, (SB 18-034), ch. 14, p. 169, § 2, effective October 1. L. 2019: (3) added, (HB 19-1327), ch. 347, p. 3209, § 1, effective May 1, 2020.

Editor's note: (1) This section is similar to former § 12-47.1-102 as it existed prior to 2018.

(2) Section 16(2) of chapter 347 (HB 19-1327), Session Laws of Colorado 2019, provides that changes to this section take effect May 1, 2020, only if, at the November 2019 statewide election, a majority of voters approve the ballot question submitted pursuant to § 44-30-1514. That ballot question, referred to the registered electors as proposition DD, was approved on November 5, 2019, and was proclaimed by the Governor on December 20, 2019. The vote count for the measure was as follows:

FOR: 800,745

AGAINST: 756,712

ANNOTATION

License conditions and revocation authorized by law and constitution. The gaming commission was within its statutory authority in conditioning a key employee license on payment of back child support and taxes and revoking such license for failure to comply with such conditions. The gaming commission did not abuse its discretion or violate due process in so revoking the license where the licensee was given a reasonable opportunity to comply with such conditions, failed to provide requested income tax returns, and made false statements of material fact to the investigator regarding the filing of tax returns and where the gaming commission provided the licensee with substantial evidentiary leeway, allowed the licensee to cross-examine and impeach the investigator, and gave the licensee the opportunity to argue the proper standard for license revocation. Feeney v. Colo. Ltd. Gaming Control Comm'n, 890 P.2d 173 (Colo. App. 1994) (decided under former § 12-47.1-102).