Dan Hartman, the director of Colorado’s Division of Gaming, told Sports Handle Wednesday that he will retire on May 1, three years to the day after operators went live in Colorado with odds on ping-pong, darts, and UFC during the height of pandemic lockdowns.
Who will replace Hartman is an open question, though he is likely to have a say in who takes his chair. The state has posted the position (open to applicants until Feb. 28) and will conduct a national search rather than limit itself to candidates already in Colorado. The new director will oversee limited gaming, sports betting, fantasy sports contests, compliance, licensure, and budgeting, as well as maintaining and developing new regulations.
In addition to sports wagering, Colorado offers limited gaming at retail casinos in three former mining towns and has live horse racing and off-track betting parlors.
In Colorado, retail and digital wagering are permitted, with more than 20 digital platforms live in the state. Colorado has been the testing ground for several boutique sportsbooks, including SuperBook Sports and Circa Sports, both of which chose the state for their first locations outside of Nevada. Every major operator has a presence in the state, including BetMGM, DraftKings, and FanDuel, all of which went live on May 1, 2020, along with smaller operator BetRivers.
Common sense, partnerships paramount
Hartman, who oversees both the Division of Gaming and of Racing Events, has been credited with an inclusive, common-sense approach to regulation of legal wagering since being among the first to invite stakeholders to a series of roundtable discussions ahead of the regulatory process in 2019.
Colorado voters legalized sports wagering by referendum on Nov. 5, 2019, with a mandated May 1, 2020, launch date. Before the end of 2019, Hartman brought together operators to discuss key issues around regulation, and also to listen to them.
“Anyone who comes in is going to make it their own, but I think Colorado has kind of gotten to where it is because we do listen and we do engage, and we do look at what will make the industry move forward,” Hartman said. “We’ve tried to make sure that regulations are there, but not in the way of proposing something new. … Hopefully, that’s the kind of person that would come in and do that.”
Hartman, who was awarded the International Masters of Gaming Law Regulator of the Year Award in 2022, has worked in Colorado state government for more than 30 years. He started his career in the state at the manager level in the Division of Gaming in 1992 before becoming the director of the Medical Marijuana Enforcement Division in 2010 and the director of the Division of Racing Events in 2011.
Hartman grew up in a racing family and returned to Colorado to work for the state after working at greyhound racing tracks in Iowa and South Dakota.
“I think it’s a point in time where I’ve done quite a bit, but as a regulator in gaming, there is always something else,” Hartman said. “We got great RG (responsible gambling) legislation in last year and finalized that this year, so things are kind of getting to a point where they’re pretty solid. I know there is going to be something else, but we’ve done a lot. The division is in a really good spot, so [I’m going to go] before something else comes up that’s like, ‘I have to stay.'”
