{"id":1727,"date":"2026-06-18T12:02:54","date_gmt":"2026-06-18T12:02:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\/?p=1727"},"modified":"2026-06-18T12:02:54","modified_gmt":"2026-06-18T12:02:54","slug":"how-sports-betting-became-colorados-ticket-to-funding-140-million-in-water-conservation-projects","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\/?p=1727","title":{"rendered":"How sports betting became Colorado\u2019s ticket to funding $140 million in water conservation projects"},"content":{"rendered":"
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For the 18 ranchers who rely on the Maybell Irrigation District\u2019s canal to funnel water to their fields, the 127-year-old headgate that diverted flow from the Yampa River meant a two-hour round trip through a rocky canyon whenever they needed water.<\/p>\n

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The rusted structure was barely hanging on, and its operation was time-consuming for the busy ranchers, who had to lug special tools on all-terrain vehicles and on foot to open or close the mechanism. But it seemed impossible for the tiny district to find the $6.8 million needed to replace the headgate and the rocky diversion dam that pushed water into the canal.<\/p>\n

Then legalized sports betting came along, and, with it, millions of dollars for Colorado water projects. The tiny irrigation district, in Moffat County in the far northwest corner of the state, soon became the poster child for how gambling money is benefiting Colorado\u2019s waterways.<\/p>\n

The district received a $750,000 grant from the Colorado Water Conservation Board, which doles out money from sports betting tax revenue, said Diana Lane, sustainable food and water program director for The Nature Conservancy in Colorado, which helped the district land the grant. That led to a matching grant from the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation\u2019s WaterSMART program. With those two grants in hand, other organizations jumped on board, and money poured in, she said.<\/p>\n

In 2024, the Maybell Irrigation District installed a new headgate that can be opened or closed via cellphone. If a rancher is cutting hay and doesn\u2019t need to irrigate, he can close the gates to match the amount of water he actually needs at that moment, Lane said. And the diversion structure no longer uses boulders to control the water flow. Instead, it\u2019s a modern structure that is the right height for water control.<\/p>\n

The project also benefited four fish species, including the threatened humpback chub, and it made river navigation easier for boaters, helping the region\u2019s outdoor recreation economy.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat $750,000 was really the ball that got it all rolling, that showed people, \u2018Oh, this is going somewhere,’\u201d Lane said of that initial state grant.<\/p>\n

Since sports betting became legal in May 2020, the state has collected more than $154 million in taxes, and the Colorado Water Conservation Board has funneled $140 million to various projects that preserve and conserve Colorado\u2019s precious water. Supporters say the gambling money is a godsend for ranchers, fishermen, paddlers and others who want to protect the state\u2019s water and those who depend on it for their livelihoods. Critics, however, say legalized sports betting has come at a cost \u2014 fueling an addiction crisis that the state was unprepared for and is underfunding.<\/p>\n

This is the second story in The Denver Post\u2019s three-part series exploring the impact of legalized sports betting in Colorado, including the billions spent on wagers, rising addiction rates, and the impact on athletes and the games they play.<\/p>\n

Erin Karney Spaur, executive vice president of the Colorado Cattlemen\u2019s Association, said she reminds her family members and friends who bet on sports that every time they place a wager, they are helping ranchers like those in Maybell access precious water.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s exponentially more than we could ever imagine,\u201d she said of sports betting\u2019s impact on ranches and water. \u201cColoradans like to gamble on sports, and water is the beneficiary.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u2018That\u2019s our ticket\u2019<\/h4>\n

In 2015, the Colorado Water Conservation Board \u2014 at the behest of then-Gov. John Hickenlooper \u2014 released a report on how to best conserve and protect the state\u2019s water.<\/p>\n

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\u201cIt made a lot of plans. It set a bit of policy, and it identified two big funding needs,\u201d said\u00a0Brian Jackson, director of western water for the Environmental Defense Fund.<\/p>\n

The board determined at the time that Colorado needed $100 million per year for projects to improve river and stream health and restoration, to replace the agricultural industry\u2019s aging irrigation systems and to conserve as much water as possible.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe 2015 water plan put up that price tag and then continued on its merry way,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

But the money wasn\u2019t there.<\/p>\n

A consortium of groups with interests in the state\u2019s waterways \u2014 including environmental, agricultural and recreational organizations \u2014 began meeting to figure out how to fund the water plan. They considered various tax schemes, such as asking the state to put a levy on bottled water or rental cars. But none of their ideas came with an easy path to voter approval \u2014 something necessary to raise statewide taxes in Colorado.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe sat around a table for over a year and a half trying to figure out how to do this, and there were no good options,\u201d Jackson said.<\/p>\n

Then, in 2018, the U.S. Supreme Court delivered a ruling that offered the answer to funding water projects in Colorado: . That decision overturned the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act, paving the way for states to legalize sports betting.<\/p>\n

\u201cI said, \u2018That\u2019s it. That\u2019s our ticket,\u2019 \u201d Jackson said.<\/p>\n

Jackson thought Colorado voters would be sympathetic to the state\u2019s water crisis, caused by decades of drought and climate change. They also wagered that a tax on sports betting would be easier for voters to digest because it would only be paid by those who chose to gamble; if someone didn\u2019t want to pay the tax, then they didn\u2019t have to participate, he said.<\/p>\n

The legislature agreed to put it on the 2019 ballot, and voters approved with 51% in favor. The bill established a 10% tax on sports betting companies\u2019 revenue.<\/p>\n

\u201cWater certainly pushed it over,\u201d Jackson said.<\/p>\n

Sports betting was slated to open in Colorado on May 1, 2020. But the big date was a false start. The COVID-19 pandemic hobbled betting like a quarterback with a bum knee.<\/p>\n

\u201cSports betting was legal, and there were no sports,\u201d Jackson said. \u201cAnd I thought to myself, \u2018What the hell did we just do?\u2019 \u201d<\/p>\n

Gross sports betting revenue in Colorado was $2.6 million, with 25% of wagers placed on table tennis. Tax revenue was just $96,544.<\/p>\n

But that freeze on sports did not last, and the gambling money began flowing as rapidly as Clear Creek during the early summer snowmelt.<\/p>\n

The revenue stream<\/h4>\n

Colorado leaders soon realized sports betting was far more lucrative for tax revenues than had been predicted. In the first six years of legalized sports betting, the Colorado Department of Revenue has reported record-setting figures each year.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s been hugely successful,\u201d said Drew Peternell, Colorado state director at Trout Unlimited. \u201cRevenues from sports betting have greatly exceeded any expectations when these mechanisms were put in place.\u201d<\/p>\n

By May 2021, when sports betting in Colorado hit its first anniversary, monthly tax revenue hit $635,640 \u2014 more than five times what sports wagering had brought in during the same month just a year prior, according to data from the Department of Revenue.<\/p>\n

In its most recent report on sports-betting taxes, the department reported it collected $4.4 million in April. The Colorado Division of Gaming\u2019s news releases often tout the success of sports betting and the benefits it brings to state waterways. They also include links to BetSmart.Colorado.gov, the state\u2019s website for problem gambling resources.<\/p>\n

The April tax revenue was 28% more than the amount collected in April 2025, and taxes collected for the current fiscal year through April were at $40.7 million, up 35% over the same period last year.<\/p>\n

Thus far, the largest single-month record for tax revenue came in January when the state collected $5 million from $57.8 million in revenue. Coloradans bet $630.2 million, with $119 million wagered on professional football in a month when the Broncos made a run to the conference championship game.<\/p>\n

Proposition DD\u2019s 10% tax on net proceeds from sports betting means casinos and companies doing business in Colorado pay the tax after they pay out winning bets and federal taxes.<\/p>\n

But the Colorado General Assembly placed a $29 million-a-year cap on sports betting tax revenue when it approved Proposition DD for the statewide ballot. If the state collected more than $29 million each year, the overage was to be refunded to the casinos and licensed gaming companies.<\/p>\n

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Proposition DD also determined how sports betting proceeds were to be divvied up between programs, with water projects receiving 93% of the tax revenue.<\/p>\n

The first projection estimated that sports betting would generate about $16 million annually and that water projects would receive $14.9 million.<\/p>\n

Six percent of the tax revenue, or an estimated $960,000, would be set aside in a special fund that would be distributed to Colorado\u2019s three casino cities and other entities that received gaming revenue if they could prove that the new sports betting market caused them to lose money due to decreased bets on traditional gambling and horse racing.<\/p>\n

So far, no one has tapped that fund.<\/p>\n

Problem gambling would receive just $130,000 annually for establishing a crisis hotline and training for gambling addiction counselors. That amount was increased to $2.5 million annually in 2023.<\/p>\n

The Post interviewed seven people whose agencies receive sports betting tax revenue, but only one \u2014 Jackson \u2014 said they bet on sports themselves. And only one person, who did not want their family\u2019s story to be told publicly, said they sometimes were bothered by the addiction problem because a loved one had died by suicide after gambling away his money.<\/p>\n

The tax revenue proved so lucrative that water proponents returned to the legislature to ask for another statewide ballot. This time, which voters approved in 2024, eliminated the $29 million cap, meaning casinos and licensed sports betting companies can no longer receive refunds. And more money will pour into the water conservation fund.<\/p>\n