DENVER—Sen. Ron Tupa, D-Boulder, wants to eliminate the $5 bet limit at Colorado casinos to bring in millions of extra revenue for the state.
His proposed constitutional amendment (Senate Concurrent Resolution 8) released Monday doesn’t specify what the new limit would be or what the extra money would be used for.
Tupa said he wants to gauge support among fellow lawmakers about which new limit they would support and what the extra money should be used for. He originally intended to propose getting rid of the limit to raise more money for state colleges and universities but changed his mind because another bill emerged to set aside an estimated $672 million in federal energy revenue for higher education over 10 years.
He said higher education could still be the beneficiary or lawmakers may want to use the money for another area they’ve had trouble funding—transportation. He said those decisions will be made before lawmakers would vote to send the question to voters this fall.
“The state is always going to need more money to provide services,” Tupa said. “This is just one easy area to find additional revenue.”
A panel appointed by Gov. Bill Ritter concluded the state needs to find at least $500 million a year to keep the state’s highway system running. Ritter proposed but then abandoned a $100 per vehicle fee to raise the money. Lawmakers are still considering charging a $5 toll on Interstate 70 and charging a $6-a-day visitor fee for renting a car or staying in a hotel or motel.
Doubling the wager limit to $10 for blackjack, poker and slot machines would bring in an additional $13.7 million in state taxes in the first year, according to Mike Mauer, the Legislature’s chief economist. Raising it to $100 would bring in an additional $28.6 million while allowing unlimited bets would bring in an extra $30.5 million.
Casinos would also benefit if those projections hold true but the Colorado Gaming Association is waiting to see what the final measure looks like before taking a position, executive director Lois Rice said.
Rice said casino revenues were down over 15 percent in March which she blames partly on the smoking ban that took effect in January.
The proposal would have to be approved by two-thirds of the members of the House and Senate in order to get on November’s ballot.
