Tipico Sportsbook to open new technology hub in Colorado

The Colorado Office of Economic Development and International Trade (OEDIT) announced on Wednesday that Tipico Sportsbook has selected Colorado as home to its new technology hub.

Colorado competed with North Carolina, Georgia, and Texas as a finalist for Tipico’s technology hub, proceeding from a broader list of over 100 metropolitan areas.

The company, established in Europe in 2004, expects the Colorado location to add as many as 441 jobs over the next eight years, which are expected to have an average wage of $96,315, which is 128% of the annual average wage in Denver. Positions will include a variety of technology roles in areas like software development, cloud infrastructure, native and mobile app development, product management, and data engineering, as well as operations, marketing, finance, and customer service positions.

The company has also expressed an eagerness to engage with the state and Colorado’s higher education institutions to design work-based learning partnerships.

In 2019, Governor Jared Polis signed HB19-1327 which added the bipartisan Proposition DD to the ballot. Colorado voters approved that measure in November 2019 to legalize sports betting and fund the state’s water conservation plan. House Speaker Alec Garnett sponsored the bipartisan measure.

Online betting went into effect on May 1, 2020. Colorado’s early regulation of online sports betting is having a positive economic effect, attracting companies such as Tipico and Pointsbet in addition to generating direct tax revenue. In its first year, sports betting generated approximately $8 million in tax revenue. 

The Governor said: “Colorado voters paved the way for us to become one of the first states to legalize sports betting and use the revenue generated to protect our way of life and precious water resources that support our outdoor recreation economy and agricultural community. This move proves what we already know: Colorado is the best place to live and work and 441 new jobs will be created in Colorado thanks to this voter-driven decision.”

Colorado House Speaker Alec Garnett, commented: “It’s great to see Colorado parlay our incredible natural beauty and robust workforce into one of the best places in the country to start or run a business. I couldn't be more excited for Tipico to call Colorado home and get in on the action. The Colorado Comeback is in full swing with our state attracting new business, creating jobs, and building back stronger than before. It’s fantastic to see Tipico bet on Colorado, and I look forward to watching them grow in our state.”

Adrian Vella, Tipico US Chief Executive Officer, added: “We are thrilled to announce, in partnership with Governor Polis, our intention to establish a Tipico Sportsbook technology hub in Denver. From the world-class universities and collaborative technology community, down to the well-documented high quality of life in the state, every metric during our nationwide search pointed us right to Colorado. Now that football season is here and our sportsbook is now live in the state, we’re confident that the deep pool of technology talent in Colorado will help us take the Tipico brand to the next level in the U.S.”

J. J. Ament, President & CEO of the Denver Metro Chamber of Commerce and former CEO of the Metro Denver EDC, said: “We’ve been happy to support Tipico’s selection process and look forward to helping their team become better integrated in the Metro Denver community. And on a larger scale, we recognize that they are poised to make a significant impact in our collective efforts to protect Colorado’s water – making this an economic development project that not only creates jobs but creates a more sustainable future. For that, we’re especially glad they chose our state.”