Many Colorado Casinos Now Eligible For Paycheck Protection Program Relief

Games today have a financial backbone in Colorado and the rest of the nation.

Games that employ fewer than 500 people are now qualified to receive a second round of national financing. Small business loans totaling$ 310 billion are available through the Paycheck Protection Program( PPP ) to qualified companies.

The cap on gaming earnings for PPP registration has been completely removed.

It & , of course, is a reversal from just weeks ago, when struggling casinos were barred from requesting the initial round of loans due to an established rule. It prohibited companies receiving Small Business Administration funding from reporting more than one-third of their revenue from legitimate playing.

Only two weeks ago, the Treasury Department raised the cover on gambling earnings.

President Donald Trump & ’s administration announced last Friday that it would completely remove the cover after a burst of extreme campaigning from the entertainment sector. As a result, casinos are no longer ineligible for PPP due to legal gambling profits.

The Washington Postwas one of the first to announce that small business loans could be obtained by games.

&;On further consideration, the Administrator, in consultation with the Secretary, believes this approach is more consistent with the policy aim of making PPP loans available to a broad segment of U.S. businesses,” the Treasury Department said last Friday in a written statement.

Businesses that earned money from illegal games are still not eligible for PPP funds, according to the Treasury Department.

The new regulation standards received praise from the American Gaming Association.

&;I&;m grateful to President Trump and his administration for recognizing that commercial and tribal gaming industry employees deserve the same support available to other small businesses, and for the significant, sustained efforts of members of Congress to amplify the need for changes to the guidelines to get small gaming operators and their employees through this challenging time,” American Gaming Association President and CEO Bill Miller said in a statement.

Casinos in Colorado have previously suffered 81 million income losses.

The updated regulations should bring some relief for Colorado casinos that have reported at least $81 million in losses since shuttering on March 16. Countless casino workers have been furloughed in the gaming towns of Black Hawk, Central City, and Cripple Creek&;as a result of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

On April 26, the state & , s & ; stay at home; and coronavirus fighting order was changed to a & /; policy, safer and r d quo. The more recent type had fewer restrictions in some places. However, casinos continue to be closed despite the fact that legal sports gaming will begin on May 1 only days away.

Gov. Jared Polis stated on Monday that the state hasn’t but cracked the code governing the safe opening of casinos, bars, and bars. He pointed out that these services present particular difficulties because of their essentially cultural andrdquo nature.

Games with fewer than 500 people are now qualified to apply for PPP loans in the interim. Native American tribes that run gambling are also qualified for input funding, .

The city of Black Hawk also waived gambling fees for its casinos to try and provide some additional financial relief.

Nearly 9,000 folks work for CO games.

The state&;s gaming industry employed 8,956 people in 2018, according to the latest estimates from the Colorado Department of Revenue.

The job statistics are distributed by group as follows:

• Black Hawk: 5,718
• Cripple Creek1: 956
• Central City1, 282

The PPP provides small businesses with funds to pay up to eight weeks of payroll costs, including benefits, according to the Treasury Department.

The funds can also be used by loan consumers to pay interest on their mortgages, rent, and services.

Mortgage payments may be postponed by consumers for six months. The loans are fully forgiven if the company maintains or immediately rehires employees while maintaining income levels. But, payment must be paid with at least three-quarters of the forgiven sum.