Fantasy football wagering now live in Colorado
News on 12 Nov 2016
News on 12 Nov 2016
Fantasy football wagering arrived in Colorado this week at off-track betting sites.
Whilst betting on professional sports in the state remains illegal, wagering at off-track betting entities on professional sports in a format that blends horse racing-style betting and odds with National Football League DFS started.
Off-track betting sites already permit gambling on horse and dog races throughout the country – such as the Kentucky Derby.
Colorado Springs is one of four sites in the United States – not counting Nevada – that allows punters the opportunity to wager on individual NFL players, local reports claim.
The new gambling opportunities follow the June 2016 signing by Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper of bill HB-1404 into state law, allowing for daily fantasy sports (see previous report).
Nevada became the first US state to allow fantasy wagering of this kind when the Nevada Gaming Commission approved an intrastate licence to USFantasy Sports in June.
Off-track betting sites in Colorado will set opening odds, projections and scoring rules determined by USFantasy Sports, and permit punters to wager on football players in different pools or “games” to outscore the other football players in the pool.
Gamblers can wager on players finishing first, second or third or put them in exactas and trifectas – similar to betting on horses. Unlike regular sports gambling, where the odds are set when a wager is placed, fantasy sports odds are not set until the first game kicks off – another similarity with horserace betting.
