All language that allows for credit card funding of gambling accounts is set to be removed from Colorado’s regulations in order to comply with a new law focused on responsible gaming. Colorado Division of Gaming Deputy Director William Hiserodt explained the plan at an emergency rulemaking session Tuesday morning.
Colorado’s legislature in May passed SB 26-131, which bans credit card funding for gambling accounts, increases the number of daily deposits from five to six, bans push notifications, and explicitly bans ads that target those who are underage. The prohibition on use of credit cards as a source of online gambling funding is a growing trend. At least a dozen U.S. jurisdictions have a ban in place, while most major operators no longer allow such funding. Virginia lawmakers passed a law prohibiting credit card funding in April, and that law goes into effect Wednesday.
Hiserodt said the regulator was holding the emergency rulemaking session ahead of the Aug. 12 effective date of the new law as a “courtesy” to operators, and that a traditional rulemaking process later this year will address other changes related to the new law.
Gift cards are tricky
A key question for operators — in Colorado and elsewhere — is how to determine if a gift card was originally purchased with a credit card. Fanatics Betting & Gaming State Compliance Manager Megan Otieno asked for clarification about what the word “indirectly” in the proposed rule change means. The following language will be added to the regulations:
No account may be funded, directly or indirectly, by a credit card as of August 12, 2026.
Such language exists in statutes and regulations in other states, but the issue Otieno alluded to is this — operators may not be able to easily determine how a gift card was originally funded. Mia Tsuchimoto, sports betting program manager and western regional director for the Division of Gaming, acknowledged that determining how a gift card was originally purchased is tricky. She said she believed that payment processors could determine this information, and that the operators themselves would have to work with suppliers on this issue.
Credit card prohibitions previously created challenges for operators. In Massachusetts, DraftKings was fined for allowing bettors to use funds put into their account via credit cards in other states. The company, along with FanDuel, has since banned credit card funding on its platform. Fanatics Sportsbook has not allowed credit card funding since its launch in 2021.
