Colorado Turns Sports Betting Into Major Water-Project Funding

By Marianne Goodland | Colorado Politics

Funding for the state’s 2015 water plan started as a trickle. But sports gaming revenue has now turned that trickle into a steady stream.

The Colorado Division of Gaming announced this week that nearly $33.8 million from 2024-25 will be allocated to the Colorado Water Conservation Board to support the state’s water plan, with distribution to water projects set to begin in July 2026.

Estimates of the following year’s revenues are even better: a forecast of nearly $39 million that could help fund hundreds of projects throughout the state.

It’s a far cry from when the water plan got underway in 2015.

Back then, the expectation was that the state would need to invest approximately $100 million per year for 30 years between 2020 and 2050, totaling around $3 billion. The water plan’s cost was considerably higher, with expectations that water providers would cover $17 billion.

The state’s share was initially minimal, relying heavily on severance tax revenue that fluctuated with oil and gas prices. While general fund dollars were never intended to be part of the funding stream, with little else to rely on, the General Assembly had to step in, providing funding for the water plan that varied from $7 million to $20 million.

Everything changed in 2019 with the passage of Proposition DD, the sports gaming ballot measure. Voters approved a 10% tax on casino and sportsbook gambling, with most of the revenue allocated to the state’s water plan. The revenue also funds the regulation of sports betting, a hold-harmless fund, and services for gambling addiction.

According to the General Assembly’s Blue Book, the amount to be raised was capped at $29 million per year, with 94% of that allocated to the water plan.

In the first two years after passage of DD, the amount sent to the CWCB ranged from a low of about $8 million to $15 million.

By just three years into DD, in the 2022-23 year, the revenues were already inching close to the cap, with $25.6 million raised.

Voters approved an update in 2024, Proposition JJ, to allow the state to retain and spend whatever is raised. That was fortuitous, given that the state exceeded the cap by almost $1 million in the 2023-24 fiscal year.

Colorado is one of the top 10 states in the nation for sports betting, and the water plan is the beneficiary. One sports betting media site ranks Colorado fifth, attributing the interest to the state’s tech-savvy population and popular sports teams, including the Denver Nuggets, Broncos, and Colorado Avalanche, which keep bettors coming back year-round.

The state saw $6.2 billion in betting in the 2023-2024 fiscal year, and that amount increased by $287 million for the 2025 fiscal year, setting a record.

Sports betting revenue is not the only funding source for water plan projects. Grants awarded by the Colorado Water Conservation Board often come with matching requirements.

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