As gambling rises in Colorado, so do efforts around addiction
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That means less money going to Las Vegas, said Sean Demeule, General Manager at Ameristar Casino Resort Spa Black Hawk.
“With the new offerings, with the continued investment by the industry in Colorado, with these new games, with these new limits, there's absolutely more reason for Coloradans to stay in Colorado, play in Colorado, keep those tax dollars here in Colorado.”
Slot machine are still dominant, but table games are growing at twice the rate of slot machines in Colorado, thanks to the elimination of the $100 betting limit and the addition of baccarat in 2021, when voters approved Amendment 77.
Baccarat is an important new game for Colorado casinos, bringing in an entirely new customer. The origin of baccarat is contested by scholars, but there’s evidence that its roots go back to 15th century Italy. Napoleon played a version of the game. It’s now popular around the world, but it’s dominant in Asia, accounting for most of the floor space in Macau casinos.
Sports betting, now in it’s fourth year in Colorado, has also seen substantial growth, particularly for the casino’s bottom line. This October, sports wagers brought in $47 million, after player payouts, a 30 percent increase from the same month last year.
Colorado, long a top market for Las Vegas, is now better positioned to compete for those gamblers. Amenities help too, including the expansion of the Monarch Casino Resort Spa in Black Hawk was completed in 2021, hundreds of new rooms.
David Farahi was the Chief Operating Officer for Monarch during the construction and opening of the new hotel and casino.
“If we can bring a Vegas-quality asset with Vegas-quality games to Colorado, we will steal trips from Las Vegas and we will grow the pie for the state of Colorado, and every indication is that has happened,” said Farahi, who left the company in 2021.
Farahi is now an adjunct professor at the University of Denver, and he serves on the board of Kindbridge Behavioral Health, which offers programs to help people suffering with gambling addiction, what the industry calls “problem gambling.”
“Whenever you have an expansion of gaming,” Farahi said. “Especially one that is going to put sports betting in people's pockets, through their phones, you're going to have an expansion of problem gambling.”
Kindbridge was awarded a $264,265 grant from the Colorado Division of Gaming, to create an implementation strategy for treatment of “gambling disorder.” The grant was part of $1.6 million handed out for various problem gambling initiatives as part of a state law, passed in 2022.
It’s unclear currently the exact size of the problem is in Colorado, but Farahi said generally only five percent of gamblers develop a problem. Still, it’s important to invest to help them.
“There are enough people that can have a healthy relationship with gambling for the industry to have a robust business,” said Farahi. “We do not need to be predatory.”
The state gave more than $1 million in grants to the Problem Gambling Coalition of Colorado, to create a drop-in center for people struggling with addiction and various awareness and education programs.
Peggy Brown is president of the Coalition, and has been with the organization for years. She said they used to have virtually no financial resources — she said Colorado’s investments in problem gambling are the largest in the state’s history.
“No longer can we have our heads in the sand,” Brown said. “We've got an issue here. We have a problem here.”
