Colorado Threatens Sports Bettors Who Harass Players With Exclusion

Sports bettors in Colorado who harass athletes could soon face bans from the state’s legal sportsbook market. Colorado Buffaloes fans cheer on their team at Folsom Field in Boulder on Aug. 29, 2024. Colorado sports bettors who harass players could soon find themselves on the state’s Involuntary Exclusion List. (Image: Getty) The Colorado Division of Gaming is recommending a change to Rule 29, Section 3-2907, which deals with the exclusion and rejection of persons from state-licensed gaming operations. The state gaming regulators want the authority to place individuals who threaten athletes on the state’s Involuntary Exclusion List. The proposal suggests that “threats to the interest of the State” be amended to include individuals who have “threatened physical harm” to an athlete, coach, team personnel, official, sportsbook employee, or staff member of the Colorado Division of Gaming. Threats to the immediate family members of players and coaches would also qualify a person for the Involuntary Exclusion List. A person who is convicted of a crime against the aforementioned class and anyone who manipulates or compromises the integrity of a sports event would also be deemed a threat. Governing Bodies Seek Protection If the Colorado Limited Gaming Control Commission adopts the Division of Gaming’s recommendation, angry sports bettors who harass the protected class would risk losing their betting privileges. The Colorado Division of Gaming’s amendment comes after the NFL, MLB, NBA, NHL, and MLS in September urged gambling regulators to institute rules to protect players, coaches, and officials from sports bettors’ harassment. “While the expansion of legal, state-regulated sports betting has brought new ways for fans to engage with their favorite sports, it has also introduced some negative consequences for players and other personnel involved with professional sporting events,” the leagues wrote to state gaming regulatory bodies that oversee sports betting. Too often, individuals who lose sports bets direct threatening and harassing messages toward players, coaches, and their families via social media and in-person interactions,” the letter continued. In October, the NCAA joined IC360 and Signify Group’s Bad Actor Program to identify online harassment of college student-athletes. Through the initiative, the NCAA hopes to bring accountability to online abuse through information that can be used to ban bad actors from legal sports betting and live sporting events. The Bad Actor Program can also make referrals to law enforcement when deemed appropriate. Americans Betting Like Never Before In 2025, legal sports bets in the U.S. totaled almost $167 billion. The record handle led to record revenue, with oddsmakers keeping about $17 billion of the bets. Through August, the American Gaming Association (AGA) reports that handle and sportsbook revenue have only grown. Oddsmakers kept $10.45 billion of the sports bettors’ wagers, a 4% gain on the same eight months in 2025. The legal sports bets do not include sports event trades on prediction markets, offshore online sportsbooks, and bets with local bookies. The post Colorado Threatens Sports Bettors Who Harass Players With Exclusion appeared first on Casino.org.