A Senate committee Tuesday killed a lawmaker’s plan to eliminate Colorado’s $5 bet limit at casinos, an idea the gambling industry is pushing separately as a ballot initiative.
“The public is going to pass this whether it comes out of this building or through the industry,” Sen. Ron Tupa, D-Boulder, told the Senate state affairs committee.
Tupa said polling shows support is high among Coloradans for eliminating the limit. His proposal would have asked voters in November to amend the state constitution. Tupa’s proposal did not set a new bet limit or even say where the estimated $30 million in new revenue would go.
Sen. Abel Tapia, D-Pueblo, said he had proposed the same idea earlier this year but withdrew it at the request of Gov. Bill Ritter’s office, which had concerns about “ballot clutter” in November.
“The thought is people would just go down the line and say ‘no’ to everything,” Tapia said.
The committee voted to indefinitely postpone Tupa’s bill.
The casino industry is backing a ballot initiative that would allow gambling towns to increase bet limits, add games and extend hours.
Additional gambling revenue would go to community, junior and local colleges.
If approved statewide, residents of Black Hawk, Central City and Cripple Creek could increase bet limits to $100, add craps and roulette, and allow casinos to operate around the clock. Casinos currently close at 2 a.m. Colorado is the only state with a $5 bet limit.
The measure, filed Friday with the Legislative Council, still has to go through the title board to get a ballot title, and proponents must submit 76,000 certified signatures to get it on the November ballot.
