The Colorado Limited Gaming Control Commission (‘CLGCC’) has approved its first distribution of responsible gaming grants, for a total of $1,571,965.
Who received the Colorado grants?
There were a total of five project awards, granted to three organizations:
- Kindbridge Research Institute
- Massachusetts Council on Gaming and Health
- Problem Gambling Coalition of Colorado
The grants are ‘for various projects, including gambling counselor training and certificate programs, research on the current landscape of problem gambling in Colorado, a collegiate awareness program, a social marketing campaign and research on gambling addiction, and the creation of a problem gambling center in Colorado.’
Commission Chair Richard Nathan stated: “We would be ignoring the obvious if we did not accept that the largely positive experience of gaming in Colorado does not, amongst its participants, have some who are negatively impacted by their participation. The legislature has recognized, and our Commission prioritized, public education and treatment options, including training certified counselors to help individuals and families. Our actions this month are just the beginning of our efforts to recognize that there is such a thing as problem gaming and to address mitigating its negative impact.”
The Problem Gambling Coalition of Colorado received three of the five awards distributed by the Colorado Limited Gaming Control Commission. Peggy Brown of the Coalition commented in a release: “the Problem Gambling Coalition of Colorado is excited to be a recipient of funding provided by the Responsible Gaming Grants awarded by the Division of Gaming and the Colorado Gaming Commission. We look forward to continued input and support from both the Division and Commission during grant implementation.”
The Colorado Responsible Gambling Grant Program was signed into law in 2022 by Gov. Jared Polis and was designed to enable the CLGCC to distribute funds to applicants intending to use the money to encourage prevention and education around problem gambling. Colorado sports betting was legalized in 2019.
The funding has been approved for an initial term of one year, where the recipients must then present their findings to the Commission before obtaining potential further funding.
What is the US responsible gaming landscape?
Responsible gaming conversations continue to gain traction across the United States. New York online sports betting has faced backlash for marketing to minors, with tighter advertising rules being proposed and potentially put in place after a 60 day public consultation. In addition, there’s the federal proposal for a ban on all marketing looming, although experts do not predict it’ll pass.
The positive words, however, on the overall impact of gaming and sports betting should not be ignored. While negativity swirls, positive success stories will be vital for commercial operators hoping to see legalized sports betting in Texas this year, as well as online casino in New York.