Credit Card Deposits to Sportsbooks Are Being Phased Out in the U.S.
The almost frantic pace of sports betting legalization after a landmark U.S. Supreme Court ruling in 2018 - more than three dozen states followed in Nevada's footsteps within just seven years - has left many state legislators with 'buyer's remorse.'
There have been many unintended negative consequences ever since, from seemingly non-stop sportsbook advertising, to national broadcasters hawking their own "best bets" to viewers, to multiple studies indicating a rise in the number of compulsive gamblers since the legalization of sports betting.
Colorado's new bill to ban credit card deposits
Colorado Gov. Jared Polis is about to have a bill intended to address another ill-advised option for gamblers land on his desk soon, after which he is expected to sign it into law.
The bill would bar CO sportsbook operators from accepting deposit made by credit cards - a potentially dangerous tool for a problem gambler who doesn't have enough money in their bank account to continue making wagers.
Credit card deposits to sportsbooks are a poor bet even for those without a compulsive gambling addiction. That is because banks typically treat the deposits as cash advances, and with that come high cash-advance fees and extremely high interest rates.
Colorado lawmakers hardly are alone in their concerns. Legislation to ban the use of credit cards for gambling deposits also have been discussed in Ohio, New Jersey, Maryland, and New York, among other states.
A ban already is in place in Massachusetts, Illinois, Tennessee, Iowa, Oregon, Maine, Rhode Island, New Hampshire, and Vermont. A similar prohibition in Virginia will go live this summer.
But by the time that states like Colorado are about to take this step, the sportsbooks industry itself already have acted.
Major sportsbooks outpaced legislators in banning credit card use
The increasingly adversarial relationship between state regulators and sportsbook operators is evident in the number of states that either have significantly raised their tax rates, or are seriously considering it.
Perhaps as a preemptive move, the nation’s live operators, operating in up to dozens of states, have recognized the credit card issue as one more potential black mark.
The issue took center stage in July 2025 after the Massachusetts Gaming Commission - known nationally in the industry for its insistence that sportsbooks strictly adhere to the state's rules - fined a major sportsbook $450,000 for three self-reported violations in the previous two years.
The company acknowledged mistakenly accepting $83,000 in credit card deposits in Massachusetts in spite of the state's clear ban on that practice. "Internal miscommunication" was its stated rationale for the errors.
So in August 2025, that incident kicked off what has now become a wave of sportsbooks prohibiting such deposits with other companies following suit in March 2026, and more a month later.
With relative newcomers like Fanatics never having allowed such transactions, that means that the operators that account for more than 90% of wagers in most states with competitive marketplaces are united in already not permitting the costly option.
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Colorado's other new sports betting wrinkles in the bill
Governor Polis also is expected to sign into law several other new regulations placed in the bill.
Limits on total cash deposits per day
One would require sportsbooks to accept no more than six cash deposits in a single day. That sort of rule is welcomed by responsible gambling advocates who have documented a phenomenon known as "chasing."
That is what can happen when frustrated compulsive gamblers who run into a losing streak feel an urge to make more and more additional bets in hopes – often in vain - of ending the day in less of a financial hole.
Limits on push notifications
Sportsbook operators also no longer would be permitted to send "push notification alerts" to its customers in an attempt to remind them of the opportunity to place a wager on certain contests that day.
Limits on advertising to the youth
Operators also will be banned from advertising on “broadcast, cable, radio, print, and digital communications” in cases where the majority of the audience is expected to be under the state's legal gambling age of 21.
Language in the bill points to research finding that 60% to 80% of high school students have gambled within the past 12 months. Sports betting ads also can't be advertised between 8 a.m. and 10 p.m. to enhance the chance that teenagers – or even pre-teens - won't view such enticements.
Ban on prop betting
The most significant amendment that was removed from language of the final bill would have eliminated "prop betting" - placing wagers on the performance of an individual player in a single game.
But as has occurred in several other statehouses, some limiting measures on sports wagering that have been proposed are running headlong into fiscal reality.
Prop betting has proven to be extremely popular with gamblers. Colorado state senator Matt Ball, a sponsor of the bill, estimated that a ban would cost the state between more than $2 million per year in tax revenue. That led to agreement among lawmakers that the provision should be tabled.
When would the new bill take effect if signed?
The changes, assuming the governor signs the bill into law, will take effect in August.
