Hard Rock Bet has officially launched in Colorado, extending the sportsbook’s reach to nine US states.
The online gaming operator secured market access through an agreement with Johnny Nolan’s Casino in Cripple Creek.
That partnership was an essential requirement to get the deal off the ground as state regulators have to ensure that an operator has a collaboration in place with a gaming facility before approving licensure.
With the arrival of Hard Rock Bet, Colorado now hosts 13 online sportsbooks including the likes of DraftKings, BetMGM and bet365.
Who Are Hard Rock Bet?
Hard Rock Bet is run by the Seminole Tribe of Florida and the platform is already live in Arizona, Illinois, Indiana, New Jersey, Ohio, Tennessee, Virginia as well as holding market monopoly in Florida.
Seminole Gaming was established in 1979 when the Seminole Tribe of Florida opened the first high-stakes bingo hall and casino in the US, now known as Seminole Classic Casino Hollywood, based in South Florida.
A definitive moment in its history was the acquisition of the Hard Rock brand in 2007, expanding its offerings in gaming, entertainment and hospitality under the wing of Hard Rock International.
Hard Rock took the big step into online gaming with HardRockCasino in 2018, becoming a major player among online casinos.
Hard Rock Digital was established soon after in 2020, expanding services for the online gaming and sports betting markets.
in 2024, Hard Rock Sportsbook recorded gross gaming revenue (GGR) of $881 million.
That was aided by its monopoly in Florida and made it the fourth-largest US operator by that metric, trailing only FanDuel, DraftKings and BetMGM.
That fuelled industry estimates that Hard Rock International could be worth as much as $8 billion.
What can Hard Rock Bet offer?
Key features available to Colorado betters will include Hard Rock’s global loyalty program, Unity by Hard Rock, and exclusive bonuses and promos via reward drops.
“Hard Rock Bet Sportsbook is bringing an exciting new experience to Colorado players with deep betting markets on all major sporting events plus local favorites like table tennis and MMA,” said Hard Rock Bet President and CRO Matt Primeaux.
“With our top-rated platform, weekly Legendary Reward Drops, and integration into Unity by Hard Rock, we’re confident that Coloradans are going to love the Hard Rock Bet Sportsbook experience.”
Online operators who have quit Colorado
This appears to be a strong move from Hard Rock Bet and a chance to gain a strong foothold in an area where some operators have walked away after quitting the US market.
In July 2024, European gaming holding company Super Group announced it was shuttering Betway in the nine US markets it held a wagering license, including Colorado.
Also in September last year Betsson announced it was ending its B2C offering in the US by shutting down its Betsafe brand in Colorado.
In the same month, Evoke revealed plans to shutter its sports betting operations in US markets, which saw its SI Sportsbook business n Colorado close.
Jim Munro is a betting industry and gambling expert who has been a national newspaper journalist for over 25 years, predominantly at The Sunday Times and The Sun, where he wrote a weekly soccer betting column. Jim also worked on the launch of Virgin Bet with Gamesys and was subsequently head of editorial at LiveScore, the sports media and betting group.
