The Colorado Limited Gaming Control Commission has issued a penalty of $20,000 on Fanatics Sportsbook for two instances of sending unwanted promotional messages to a punter who had opted out of sports betting.
The action followed an investigation by the Division of Gaming, which indicated that Fanatics had contacted a self-excluded customer. The player had enrolled in Colorado’s five-year self-exclusion programme on 15 January 2026, but Fanatics’ VIP team sent a promotional text on 1 February.
The operator identified the mistake on February 4, and briefed its VIP staff accordingly. Unfortunately for the punter, he received another promotional message from Fanatics on February 17.
The regulator stated that the responsible gaming policy states that Fanatics is not allowed to target known self-excluded customers with any marketing materials.
Fanatics accepted the guilty plea and agreed to pay the penalty.
As part of the settlement, Fanatics will have to check its records to make sure that other excluded customers have not received any promotional messages between 2024 and 2026.
The approval of the enforcement step coincides with the introduction of expanded restrictions for sports gambling marketing in Colorado.
The SB26-131 bill, signed by Governor Jared Polis earlier this year, bans operators from sending push notifications or messages that encourage inactive players to gamble. The law forbids using credit cards to finance the gambling process, and the number of deposits for one player is limited to six per day while advertising for people below the age of 21 is also banned. The wording of the advertisements has also been tightened, with restrictions placed on ad expressions such as “bonus bet” and “no sweat”.
Colorado regulators noted that it is important for the licensed operators to comply with the state requirements for responsible gambling.