- A Colorado Senate committee narrowly advanced a bill to roll back the Colorado Lottery’s recent allowance of credit card purchases and proposed mobile ticketing.
- The measure raises questions about consumer debt, gambling addiction, and how the Lottery would collect player data via a planned app.
Senate Bill 117 cleared the Colorado Senate Finance Committee on a tight 5–4 vote after lengthy testimony about addiction, consumer debt, and rulemaking authority.
The bill would prohibit Colorado Lottery purchases by anything other than cash or debit. It would also ban a state-run mobile app for direct ticket sales, and – initially – block courier services that buy tickets on customers’ behalf, though that was later removed by an amendment.
Supporters, including co-sponsors Sen. Judy Amabile and Sen. Jeff Bridges, framed the move as protecting vulnerable players from credit card debt and addictive mobile products.
The Colorado Lottery defended its plan as modernization, saying a digital platform would enable evidence-based player protections such as age verification, deposit limits, and real-time spending displays. Committee members also pressed the Lottery on how it will collect, notify users about, and use player data.
Did the Colorado Lottery exceed its authority?
- https://www.playusa.com/news/colorado-bill-seeks-to-ban-use-of-credit-cards-at-lottery-and-halt-digital-sales/