• Colorado Gambling Limits
• Colorado Gambling Tax Laws

Colorado is another state that starts its section on gambling laws off with a legislative declaration to set forth how the following laws pertaining to gambling are to be interpreted by the courts. It reads as follows:

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“(1) It is declared to be the policy of the general assembly, recognizing the close relationship between professional gambling and other organized crime, to restrain all persons from seeking profit from gambling activities in this state; to restrain all persons from patronizing such activities when conducted for the profit of any person; to safeguard the public against the evils induced by common gamblers and common gambling houses; and at the same time to preserve the freedom of the press and to avoid restricting participation by individuals in sport and social pastimes which are not for profit, do not affect the public, and do not breach the peace.

(2) All the provisions of this article shall be liberally construed to achieve these ends and administered and enforced with a view to carrying out the declaration of policy stated in subsection (1) of this section.” (1)

So in addition to seeking a broad interpretation of the laws here, the goal is expressed as focusing on those profiting from gambling and not the act of gambling itself. It is worth mentioning at this point that Colorado law has a unique definition of “professional gambling,” which means the following:

“(a) Aiding or inducing another to engage in gambling, with the intent to derive a profit therefrom; or
(b) Participating in gambling and having, other than by virtue of skill or luck, a lesser chance of losing or a greater chance of winning than one or more of the other participants.” (2)

So this does not mean deriving one’s income from gambling, it means either running a gambling operation and profiting from that or cheating at gambling.

The most significant part of this directive in reference to poker playing is their seeking to “avoid restricting participation by individuals in sport and social pastimes which are not for profit, do not affect the public, and do not breach the peace.”

This in itself lends itself strongly to not prohibiting gambling which falls in this category, which notably would at least seem to include both social gambling in private games and internet gambling as well, as this could easily be seen as a social pastime in the manner described.

The Actual Gambling Law Itself In Colorado

So let’s look at the actual law in Colorado as far as gambling offenses are concerned. As we look at this, we need to bear in mind the directive of not looking to interfere with social gambling.

Before we can look at the law against gambling we need to look at how gambling is defined in this state:

“”Gambling” means risking any money, credit, deposit, or other thing of value for gain contingent in whole or in part upon lot, chance, the operation of a gambling device, or the happening or outcome of an event, including a sporting event, over which the person taking a risk has no control…” (3)

This is a pretty standard definition and is set up so that betting on poker is clearly included, since poker hands are contingent at least in part upon chance.

So here’s how the law against gambling in Colorado reads:

“(1) A person who engages in gambling commits a class 1 petty offense.
(2) A person who engages in professional gambling commits a class 1 misdemeanor. If he is a repeating gambling offender, it is a class 5 felony.” (4)

Once again, keep in mind that “professional gambling” means deriving profit apart from the honest play of a player who gains through the means of luck and skill, so that would fall under (1) and would be classified as the offense of gambling and not professional gambling.

A petty offense in Colorado is the least serious of offenses, although it is still a criminal offense.

Playing Poker In Colorado

There does seem to be some conflict here when we look at the actual law and compare it with the legislative directive we begun this discussion looking at. This directive comprises a significant and binding part of the state’s overall gambling law though and is not just there for judges to refer to when the law is unclear.

So looking at the law itself and how it reads then this would seem to make all gambling in Colorado illegal. We do know that there is legal gambling in Colorado though so this section is certainly not the last word, and is subject to modification by other provisions in the law, such as the legislative directive.

So we really need to look at both of these together to determine what forms of gambling are prohibited, and we know that the directive prescribes that we not limit social gambling, so that would presumably not be included, and social gambling may be seen as not just home games but the playing of online poker as well.

You never know how courts will actually interpret laws in practice though, as there was a case in Colorado where persons were charged with running a poker tournament, and the judge found them not guilty because poker was found to be a game of skill and therefore not gambling. (5) It is very difficult to imagine how the judge came to this conclusion as this would require there to not be any element of chance at all in it, but at least it was a friendly one to poker players.

Colorado also has provisions to regulate live poker rooms and there are a total of 10 live poker rooms in the state, in the areas of Black Hawk, Cripple Creek, Central City, and Ignacio. Many of these poker rooms are within easy driving distance from major population centers such as Denver and Colorado Springs and feature a wide variety of stakes to suit the needs of a wide variety of players. (6)

Whether or not online poker is ever found to be illegal or not, and there has not ever been anyone charged with this, players from Colorado continue to play it, and there is at least some leaning toward regulating it down the road.

In the mean time if you are up for some online poker and are from Colorado, the one site I have no problem recommending to you is Ignition Poker and Casino, one of the newest and surprisingly – one of the most trusted sites out there today. It absorbed the former Bovada Poker software and features the same promos and even bigger bonuses for new players. Check the review out here!

References:

(1) Colorado Revised Statutes, 18-10-101, Legislative Declaration – Construction

(2) Colorado Revised Statutes, 18-10-102 Definitions

(3) ibid.

(4) Colorado Revised Statutes, 10-10-103, Gambling

(5) Poker Deemed Not Gambling In Colorado Criminal Case

(6) All Live And Online Poker Rooms In Colorado

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Cruise ship gambling has a tumultuous history in the United States. After the Great Depression, gambling cruises popped up on America’s coasts. Harry Truman outlawed them in 1948, less than a year after the same captain who staved off ax-wielding federal agents for two days had his second ship seized. Cruise ship gambling has never been that contentious since it was legalized again in 1991. However, modern gaming has created new legal questions that push the limits of maritime law.

And believe us, it’s messy.

Colorado Gambling Limits

How The Laws Of The Ocean Work For Gambling Vessels

Maritime law answers questions about who’s responsible for crimes committed on the ocean. It also draws boundaries around countries that separate the water into five different zones:

American laws apply in its internal waters and its territorial sea. The territorial sea is United States territory that’s just ocean. It used to stretch three nautical miles from the coast until Ronald Regan pushed it to 12. In territorial waters, ships are subject to United States law–which often included prohibitions on gambling.

There was an easy solution to this problem, though. A gambling vessel could sail past the territorial sea into the contiguous sea. The United States has limited jurisdiction in the contiguous sea, which is the area 12-24 nautical miles from shore. American laws don’t apply, but the Coast Guard still has the right to seize ships operating unlawfully. But unless a gambling ship is participating in drug trafficking, it doesn’t have anything to worry about. 12.1 nautical miles from the American shore, gamblers may begin gambling.

The other two sections don’t concern gambling vessels. The Exclusive Economic Zone is where the United States calls dibs on natural resources. And of course, the High Seas are the rest of the ocean, where virtually anything goes.

Colorado Gambling Tax Laws

American Cruise Casinos: From Pirates To Some 90’s Law

American ships that took bettors out to sea popped up after the Great Depression. It was a lucrative business, so it wasn’t hard to attract captains ready to take gamblers past the three-mile line to gamble. (Remember, it wouldn’t be a 12-mile line until 1988.)

One captain, Tony Cornero, captained the S.S. Rex, which had slot machines, bingo, and a horse parlor. His conflicts with law enforcement would play a role in banning cruise ship gambling for most of the 20^th century. In November 1939, after several standoffs with state and federal law enforcement off California’s coast, Captain Cornero had to give the Rex up and go to prison.

After World War II, Cornero restarted his gambling ship business on a new vessel called Lux. This time, he went six miles out to sea. But California officials were sick of him after spending months trying to shut him down in the late ’30s. The state went after him again and shut him down in January 1947. At the California Governor’s urging, President Truman forbade gambling in U.S. territorial waters. For over 40 years, no American ship would be able to have gambling onboard.

But in 1991, the House of Representatives passed a law that would allow gambling on American cruise ships outside of American territorial seas. Foreign cruise ships were doing it, and the ban was hurting the cruise industry. After Captain Cornero’s standoffs with law enforcement, cruise ship gambling was back in the United States.

Today, cruise ship gamblers will find slot machines, table games, and even poker tournaments on board. The casino section will only be available when the ship is in international waters. But a new addition could set new precedents in maritime law.

Why Cruise Ship Sports Betting Is A Legal Mess

There’s nothing wrong with mobile gambling on a cruise ship. Gamblers can get their winnings immediately on board. There’s no waiting for bingo or slots winnings. The result is crystal clear. Cruise ships can also keep the gaming servers onboard, which control slots payouts. (Expect cruise slots payouts to be terrible. Cruise ships don’t care whether you’re happy with your gambling winnings.) Since the bets can be processed onboard, there’s no issue with it in international waters.

Some sports betting lines aren’t an issue, either. Game lines can be resolved while bettors are on board. If the ship spends enough time on the High Seas, they can process bets and deliver winnings before returning to United States waters. They could limit the games they offer to make those deadlines, solving any legal problems.

But there’s a thorny issue waiting to conflict with federal law: future game lines and futures bets.

The Ultimate Showdown: Cruise Ship Sports Betting Vs. The Wire Act

If a bettor takes a cruise in October and places a futures bet on the Super Bowl, how do they collect their money? Your first guess might be electronically. The cruise’s sportsbook could send the money to a bettor’s bank whenever they went back home.

But the Federal Wire Act prevents that transaction. The Wire Act prevents sports wagers from crossing state or international lines. The goal was to curtail organized crime in the ’60s. However, now that sports betting is being legalized across the country, more gaming operators want to offer it. States can make it work by requiring a geofence around its state. But a cruise ship can’t send winnings electronically.

So, what can the cruise ships do?

Violating The Spirit Of The Wire Act

There are a few ways to get around the letter of the Wire Act. Cruise ship companies could mail a check with winnings if a bettor wins a wager on an event that took place after the cruise. The sportsbook company could do the same thing. If a cruise’s sportsbook company was legal in a bettor’s state, it could record the wager and award winnings like normal. But that doesn’t solve the problem for bettors who come from states without legal sports betting.

Cruise ships could cling to the language in the Wire Act to award winnings after the cruise on a technicality. A cruise ship could argue that the High Seas don’t count as “interstate [or] foreign” sources. But that’d be pitifully weak. A transaction coming from the ocean and arriving in Texas would not go unnoticed by Ken Paxton.

And Texas certainly wouldn’t be the only state enraged by its state sovereignty being undermined by a cruise ship.

There are technicalities that cruise ships could try to use to get around the Wire Act’s text. But there doesn’t seem to be a clean for cruise ships to award winnings on games that happen after bettors return to shore. Everything seems to risk a legal standoff that’ll determine the Wire Act’s scope and application.

How A Legal Battle Could Play Out

There are many ways a legal battle between cruise ships and the courts could play out. Cruise ships could limit the games they offer lines on to wagers that resolve themselves during the cruise. They may have to factor in payment processing time, but that seems like the best way to avoid controversy.

Cruise ship companies willing to embrace severe legal risk could find themselves limited to ports in states with legal sports betting. Then they could award winnings in port and have more flexibility coordinating their voyages with popular sporting events. That would work for cruises in the northeast, but Pacific cruises would struggle. (At least, until Oregon transitions to a private-run sports betting industry.)

The worst-case scenario is cruise ships losing the right to offer sports betting at all. Since sending payments to bettors after the cruise could be interpreted as an illegal transaction under the Wire Act, sports betting may be forbidden on cruises as the result of a bitter legal battle.

However, the corollary possibility is a cruise ship company’s lawsuit leading to the Wire Act’s repeal. The Supreme Court would have to hear the case, but the conservative super-majority would have a good chance of favoring a private company over a government rule from the 1960s. But any anti-gambling stances from the justices–especially its three most recent justices–could dash those hopes, too.

Bottom Line: New Legal Precedent Is On The Horizon

The ambiguous legal authority cruise ships are using to try offering sports betting is setting the stage for a legal showdown. Profound questions about the limits of maritime law on the high seas will be tested. It’s one thing when illegal entertainment is enjoyed on the High Seas. But the full transaction involved in that illegal entertainment must necessarily cross state lines.

It’s unclear who will bring the inevitable lawsuit. The Justice Department could file on behalf of the federal government. An anti-gambling group from an affected state could sue a cruise ship company that offers sports betting. The South’s angriest states’ rights group could steal this issue for themselves. There are many angles to attack this from.

But we do know the limits of sports betting legalization are about to be tested. A lawsuit would be unlikely to go in a cruise ship company’s favor. A foreign server completing a transaction that’s legal in less than half the country isn’t going to slip past federal prosecutors. However, a lawsuit that favors a cruise ship company could create a regulatory environment that paves the way for the federal legalization of sports betting. It’s a long-shot that depends on the details of the case.

The Second Cruise Ship Revolution

If this all sounds like abstract guessing, this issue will soon become concrete. Princess Cruises is the first cruise line to offer sports betting onboard. Bettors will be able to wager on future games and place futures bets.

The cruise ship industry has gone through a tumultuous legal rollercoaster. It began with small-time gambling and ended with a California captain who shot at federal officers with a fire hose. It began again with a 1991 law to allow gambling on American cruise ships in international waters. Whether this is the legal battle that sets cruise ships back again or launches them forward into a new epoch remains to be seen.

But we’ll be watching how what will likely become a complicated legal battle with far-reaching consequences closely in the months ahead.