DENVER — March Madness is here. Millions of Americans, including tens of thousands of Coloradans, are expected to fill out brackets wagering billions on college basketball nationwide.
But the truth is, sports gambling is still mostly illegal in the United States.
The Supreme Court, however, ruled in 2018 that states are allowed to legalize the practice.
FOX31 has confirmed an effort is underway at the Capitol to legalize the practice in Colorado.
“We’ve been working the last couple of months with stakeholders trying to build what a legal sports gambling framework would look like in Colorado,” Rep. Alec Garnett (D – Denver) said. Garnett is the House Majority Leader.
Garnett says the plan is not quite ready to be publicly revealed, but it will likely involve Coloradans voting on a new gambling tax this November. A rough draft of the plan currently calls for Coloradans to be able to place bets using the internet on their phones.
“Nobody does this in person any more. This is all done on your phone,” Garnett added.
If voters approve the practice in November, Garnett estimates gambling could take place legally as soon as the 2020 Super Bowl.
That means March Madness could be even more “mad” next year.
“I already do sports betting when I’m in Vegas. So, I’d like to see Colorado get that revenue,” said William Walsh, a sports fan at Stoney’s Bar and Grille.