Colorado Gambling Q & A
Q: Is self-betting in Colorado while playing a game of skill (GoS) considered Gambling?
A: No. Read below.
Q: What constitutes a GoS?
A: Any game that requires controllable physical and/or mental interactions from its players. Darts, pool, foosball, checkers, golf are all GoS. Craps, Yahtzee, Roulette, poker are NOT GoS because players have no control, physical or mental, on the outcome of these games.
Q: What is the statutory (legal) definition of gambling in Colorado?
A: C.R.S. § 18-10-102(2) ”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, but does not include: (a) Bona fide contests of skill, speed, strength, or endurance in which awards are made only to entrants or the owners of entries;
Colorado’s gambling definition requires that three elements be present to constitute gambling.
Risk money or anything of value (AOV).
Gain/award AOV.
No control on events being bet on.
Q: Does betting constitute gambling in Colorado?
A: No. In order for a betting transaction to be defined as gambling in Colorado it must carry all three elements stated above - remove just one and the transaction cannot be legally defined as gambling. And it’s the third element, ‘no control’ that prevents self-betting while partaking in a GoS from being defined as gambling as GoS require controllable physical and/or mental interactions from it’s players. This ‘legal by exclusion’ is expressly written in the definition’s first clause: but does not include: (a) Bona fide contests of skill, speed, strength, or endurance in which awards are made only to entrants or the owners of entries. If this clause did not exist, buy-in GoS tournaments would constitute gambling in Colorado.
So to be clear - self-betting while partaking in a bona-fide GoS does not constitute gambling as the players (who are also the bettors) have control over the events they are betting on. But betting on a bona-fide GoS as an observer would constitute gambling as the bettor has no control over the outcome of the game he/she is betting on. Self-betting on one-self to win a poker or a Craps game would constitute gambling because players have no control on the events being bet on - that being the shuffling of cards and the roll of the dice. And Craps, roulette, slot-machines etc., are not bone-fide games of skill because they have deceit baked into them. In legal parlance bona fide means ‘no deceit’. Poker players conceal their cards and bluff while Craps, roulette & slots use house odds instead of true odds. Furthermore, Craps, roulette & slots are not excluded from Colorado’s gambling definition because they do not meet the required ‘contest’ element in clause (a) - as there is never a head-to-head contest taking place when playing these games. And finally, Craps, roulette, slots require no skill (a physical or mental procedure than can be quantified and further developed) to play them.
Note that Colorado’s gambling definition uses the very black and white phrase ‘no control’ and not the indeterminate gray area word ‘chance’. No control means bettors have zero control (mental or physical) over the outcome of the event they’re betting on. While the phenomenon of chance is inherent in all GoS the degree of control to which a player has on game outcomes while partaking in the game is not zero.
Following is a 1980 case confirming that GoS self-betting is legal in Colorado.
Berckefeldt v. Hammer ruled that self-betting while partaking in a game of skill does not constitute gambling by Colorado statute §18-10-102(2).
Q: If GoS self-betting does not statutorily constitute gambling in Colorado then what is it called?
A: Tournament. Self-betting (aka - buy-in) GoS Tournaments are excluded from Colorado’s Gambling definition by its exclusion clause (a) so running a public (or private) GoS tournament requiring a buy-in (self-bet) is perfectly legal as long as only the players (or owners of players/teams) are awarded. Entry fees are what tournament players pay to rent or use the equipment and/or arenas/fields/buildings where the tournament takes place.
Q: Would GoS self-betting at a bar, restaurant or pool-hall licensed to sell alcohol be a violation of Colorado’s liquor law? C.R.S. § 44-3-901(6)(n)(i)
A: No. C.R.S. § 44-3-901(6)(n)(i) says these liquor licensees are not permitted to authorize or permit any gambling. Since GoS self-betting is not considered gambling in Colorado, said licensees can permit GoS self-betting at their businesses and not be in violation of Colorado’s liquor license gambling law.
Q: Is Craps a GoS?
A: No. While Craps allows players to shoot the dice, the design of a Craps table prevents players from having any control on the outcome of rolled dice. Two other reasons Craps does not qualify as a GoS - 1) it has deceit baked into its rules - house odds instead of true odds; 2) there’s no contest - players don’t play against each other or anyone else.
Q: Is Dice a GoS?
A: Yes. The game of Dice requires a very specific dice shooting technique which when learned can be further developed to increase a player’s shooting efficiency. It has no deceit (it’s bona fide), requires player interaction (measurable skill), pits players against each other (real person contest), there is no house advantage (uses true odds).
Q: Is playing Dice with real money gambling in Colorado?
A: No. Dice is a bona fide contest of skill and therefore self-betting while playing it would constitute tournament play - not gambling.