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Our Mission - to Ensure Honesty and Integrity in the Colorado Gaming Industry.
The Colorado Division of Gaming, a division of the Colorado Department of Revenue, is responsible for the regulation and enforcement of limited gaming in Colorado. The Division, with offices in Golden, Central City/Black Hawk and Cripple Creek, employs a staff of 91 persons, which includes investigators, auditors, accountants, administrators and support personnel.
Among the duties of the Division of Gaming is the investigation of gaming license applicants, who must submit to a thorough background review. Division investigators scrutinize personal and financial histories of applicants, including the sources of all money applicants plan to invest in a proposed establishment. Background investigations have taken Division investigators worldwide to obtain information. All Division investigators have the powers of peace officers and are certified as such. The scrutiny doesn't end once the license is issued. Division staff continue to monitor licensees for such problems as hidden ownership interests and organized crime involvement. Division investigators also patrol casinos during all hours of operation to handle patron complaints and observe for possible violations of gaming laws, rules and regulations. The Division is also very involved in other day-to-day activities of limited gaming.
In the first 23 years of gaming in Colorado, the Division's Licensing Section processed more than 44,000 new licenses for casinos and casino employees.
The Division's Audit Section conducts regular compliance and revenue audits of casinos to ensure that establishments are following stringent accounting and compliance procedures. Such practices ensure the proper reporting and payment of gaming taxes.
The Technical Systems Group oversees the approval of all gaming systems through interaction with the independent test laboratories, field trials and system reviews.
The Field Operations Unit is in charge of the slot machine approval process; provides oversight of the compliance inspection process for slot machines; evaluates and field tests new products; and conducts forensic investigations of malfunctioning slot machines.
The Accounting Section provides monthly financial reports for the Colorado Limited Gaming Control Commission, the Governor, the State Treasurer, the Speaker of the House, the President of the Senate and others, as required by state law.
Division Financial Statements
Accounting Main Contact: Vickie Floyd (303) 205-1325
The Administrative Section is responsible for implementing the Division’s strategic business plan and for ensuring that the mission of the Division is carried out in its day-to-day operations. This is accomplished through ongoing audits and inspections to determine compliance with gaming internal control and regulatory requirements, the Colorado Open Records Act, and the Gambling Payment Intercept Act; assessments of developing technologies for impact on the existing regulatory framework; and the collection and proper recording of gaming taxes.
Requests for information should be sent to the Director of Administration, Kenya Collins, at the Golden office, or e-mailed to kenya.collins@state.co.us. Submit a Colorado Open Records Act (CORA) request.
Staff counsel is Ceri Williams, Senior Assistant Attorney General
Administration Main Contact: Kenya Collins (303) 205-1338
Chief Auditor Paul Hogan is located in the Golden office. Roger Pinson is the audit manager directing the seven auditors in the Golden office that cover Black Hawk and Central City casinos, while Laurie Scott is the audit manager overseeing the three auditors in the Cripple Creek office.
The Audit Section conducts compliance reviews and revenue audits.
Compliance Reviews - All casinos are subject at any time to compliance reviews conducted by the Audit and Investigative sections. Reviews are conducted throughout the year to ensure the casinos are in compliance with the Internal Control Minimum Procedures, Colorado Limited Gaming Regulations, the Colorado Limited Gaming Act, and the Gambling Payment Intercept Act.
Revenue Audits - A revenue audit is an audit of a casino's adjusted gross proceeds (AGP) reported on the monthly gaming tax returns. AGP is the gross revenues earned less payments made to patrons and is used to calculate gaming taxes. Revenue audits ensure that casinos are adequately compiling and reporting AGP and include reviewing the tax returns, supporting revenue reports and accounting procedures.
Some of the Audit Section's other responsibilities include writing and updating the Internal Control Minimum Procedures and audit-related Limited Gaming Rules and Regulations, reviewing and granting variances to casinos to operate under alternative internal controls, collection of gaming taxes, providing training to licensees, and reviewing and consolidating financial information included in the annual gaming abstract.
Revenue Online Log On
Internal Control Minimum Procedures
ICO Checklist | ICO Attribute Worksheet | ICO Newsletter
Audit Main Contact: Paul Hogan (303) 205-1315
The Colorado Division of Gaming Enforcement and Investigations Section consists of five administrative staff and 45 peace officers serving dual roles. One is the traditional role of any law enforcement officer, enforcing not only gaming laws and gaming regulations, but also other criminal laws of the state as they are applicable in the casino towns. In this role, the Investigators of the Division arrest about a thousand persons each year for offenses associated with Colorado casino gaming. Investigators also patrol casinos and conduct inspections to determine compliance by casinos with gaming regulatory requirements. Nearly all of the enforcement work is done by investigators assigned to the Division's Central City and Cripple Creek field offices.
The second role of a Colorado gaming investigator is to conduct background investigations into the suitability of applicants for required state licensure. While conducting these investigations, the men and women of the Section regularly travel not only throughout the United States, but throughout the world. The background investigations team is consolidated in the Division's Golden office.
Matt Heap is the Chief of Investigations and is responsible for the enforcement and investigations functions in all three Division offices, which have an Agent in Charge at each location. J Wolff is the Agent in Charge of the Central City-Black Hawk operations, while Phil Spencer is the Agent in Charge of the Cripple Creek office. The Golden Agent in Charge of Investigations is John Madruga.
Complaint by Gaming Patron Form
Reporting Violation Requirements - see Notification Requirements in ICMP on Laws and Regulations page
Premises Approval Requirements
Premises Approval Form
Links to Other State Gaming Agencies
Colorado State Investigator's Association
Investigations/Enforcement Main Contact: (303) 205-1300
Gaming License Information & License Application Forms
Licensing Main Contact: John Madruga (303) 205-1337
The Colorado Division of Gaming’s Technical Systems Group is responsible for the field testing and approval of slot monitoring systems, information technology systems and other related systems and technology.
The Group is composed of seven technical staff, including Georgia McBride as the Division' Chief Technology Officer. She manages a group of six technical systems specialists, including Systems Manager Deb Gorham.
Technology Approval Process - The Division contracts with Gaming Laboratories International (GLI) and BMM North America to perform analysis and testing of all slot machines, component parts, software, and related systems before they are used in Colorado. The labs review the results of its tests (including statistical probability analysis, theoretical hold, and security) with the Division's Systems and Machine Approval Committee (SMAC) before issuing approval of the equipment they test. As part of the approval, SMAC may require the product undergo a field trial.
If either the lab or SMAC finds fault with any aspect of slot machine hardware or related systems, the lab notifies the manufacturer to correct the fault before the product can be released for unrestricted use in Colorado casinos. Manufacturers of this equipment and software pay the lab directly for this testing service.
Manufacturers who wish to supply Colorado casinos with slot machine related hardware or related systems must first be licensed by the Colorado Limited Gaming Control Commission, then contact GLI or BMM to arrange testing and approval of their product, prior to its sale or use in Colorado casinos.
Approved / Certified Test Lab Vendors:
Gaming Labs International (GLI) Locations: Golden, Colorado/Lakewood, New JerseyContract
BMM Testing Labs Locations: Las Vegas, Nevada and Wheat Ridge, ColoradoContract
Slot Machine Forms | System Testing Forms | Field Trial Procedures | Segregation of Duties Matrix | Technical Documents
Technical Systems Group Main Contact: Georgia McBride (303) 205-1347
The Colorado Division of Gaming’s Field Operations Unit comprises eight staff in three offices. Jeff Marone is the Field Operations Unit Manager, based in the Golden office, and is in charge of the slot machine approval process. He also provides oversight of the compliance inspection process for slot machines in the three mountain towns of Black Hawk, Central City and Cripple Creek; evaluation and field testing of new products; and forensic investigations of malfunctioning slot machines by managing a staff of seven Compliance Investigators.
Gus Swartz is the supervisor of three Compliance Investigators in the Central City office; Mike Hartley is the supervisor of two Compliance Investigators in the Cripple Creek office. The staff are active participants in the Division’s Systems and Machine Approval Committee.
Approved / Certified:Test Lab Vendors
Field Operations Unit Main Contact: Jeff Marone (303) 205-1330
Different sections participate in or host industry meetings and training throughout the year. For more information, visit our schedule page.
For all media inquiries, contact Suzi Karrer, Communications Manager, at 303-866-6588 or Suzanne.Karrer@state.co.us. Submit a Colorado Open Records Act (CORA) request.
The Division has three offices: Golden, Central City/Black Hawk and Cripple Creek. | Organizational Chart
For general questions, you may send email to dor_gamingweb@state.co.us
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