What a difference a year can make.
As the calendar approached Halloween in 2023, the hottest trend in gambling regulation was for states to ban certain types of fantasy pick ‘em contests that they felt too closely resembled sports betting. But while some states only banned contests involving single players, Colorado appeared poised to issue a blanket ban on all pick ‘em contests, including those offered by Underdog Sports.
At the time, the sticking point was contestants playing against the house instead of each other, with the former type of competition perceived as dipping too big a toe into the sports wagering pool for what was permitted under a fantasy contest operator license.
But it now appears as though cooler heads have prevailed, as Underdog was recently licensed to offer an updated version of its fantasy football pick ‘em contest to Colorado customers.
Higher Age Minimum and Other Tweaks
The Rocky Mountain State is the 14th to offer Underdog’s “Champions” game, which is available to Colorado contestants aged 19 or older. The age threshold is one of a handful of departures from the original game Underdog offered in Colorado.
The age minimum for Underdog’s original fantasy football product in Colorado was 18, and contestants played against the house. The revamped Champions contest is peer to peer, with each contestant entered into a pool, where they compete with other players.
In the Champions format created to meet Colorado's standards, each contestant picks three players from a minimum of two teams to exceed or fall short of a given statistical benchmark — a set number of touchdowns or yards, for example. To this end, the previous version of Underdog’s game in Colorado required contestants to create their rosters by picking higher or lower on projected fantasy points for four players from a minimum of two teams.
"The Division of Gaming engaged us in a thoughtful process and concluded our peer-to-peer game meets the state’s fantasy sports standards,” Stacie Stern, Underdog’s senior vice president of government affairs, said in a statement provided to Action Network. “Colorado was an early leader in developing fantasy sports regulations and continues to be."
The 13 additional states where Underdog’s Pick ‘Em Champions contest is available are Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, Florida, Kansas, Massachusetts, Missouri, New Hampshire, North Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, West Virginia and Wyoming.
