The sports betting giant DraftKings is in trouble with Colorado for accepting improper bets on the 2024 Jake Paul-Mike Tyson boxing match and a college basketball player’s performance in a 2025 NCAA basketball game.
The company will pay a $90,000 fine to the state for accepting bets on the two events, according to documents filed with the Colorado Limited Gaming Control Commission. The penalties were approved Thursday by the commission.
DraftKings accepted 100 wagers on the Paul-Tyson fight ahead of the November 2024 boxing match even though Colorado had issued a bulletin to sports betting companies that wagers would not be allowed under the state’s sports-betting rules, according to a stipulation and agreement notice.
Colorado’s gaming division determined the boxing match deviated from the rules approved by the Association of Boxing Commissions and Combative Sports because the fighters would be wearing 14-ounce boxing gloves instead of the usual eight or 10-ounce gloves and because the fight would have two-minute rounds instead of the usual three-minute rounds.
Because of those rule changes, Colorado decided it would not be an acceptable match for wagering, the stipulation agreement stated.
But DraftKings opened a Jake Paul vs Mike Tyson Props Pool anyway. In a props pool, gamblers bet on things that may happen in the match such as whether someone would get knocked down in the first round, whether the match would last six rounds or whether one fighter would win by a knockout. In the Paul-Tyson match there were prop bets on whether Tyson would bite Paul’s ear like he did in the infamous 1997 match against Evander Holyfield.
DraftKings accepted at least 100 wagers from Colorado before the sports-betting company removed the props pool from its Colorado betting sites and refunded the gamblers’ money.
The gaming commission determined DraftKings violated the state’s sports betting rules, including failing to obtain approval before offering a pool and failing to immediately report its violations to the state.
DraftKings was fined $50,000 for the Paul-Tyson pool.
The Paul-Tyson fight was a record-setting event for wagering on combat sports as millions of people logged onto Netflix to watch. Paul won by unanimous decision after eight rounds.
In a second stipulation and agreement approved by the gaming commission, DraftKings admitted it violated Colorado sports-betting rules by accepting proposition bets on how University of Arizona basketball star Caleb Love would perform in the March 23 NCAA basketball tournament second-round game against Oregon.
State sports-betting rules do not allow proposition bets on collegiate athletes’ individual performances. Multiple states have outlawed those bets because it could incentivize cheating and it could make the players targets of angry gamblers who blame them for losses.
DraftKings accepted 80 proposition bets from Colorado gamblers on March 23, according to the stipulation agreement, and reported its violation the next day after the game had been played. The agreement did not state whether DraftKings refunded the bettors’ money or paid out to winners.
DraftKings agreed to a $40,000 fine for that violation.
DraftKings chief compliance officer Jennifer Aguiar wrote in a statement to The Denver Post, “We promptly addressed the issues in coordination with the commission and have taken steps to strengthen our processes. We remain committed to upholding all regulatory standards in every jurisdiction where we operate and to delivering a responsible, seamless customer experience.”
DraftKings has paid fines in other states for gambling violations, including a $425,000 penalty in Ohio in 2024 for, in part, accepting wagers on college athletes’ performances in games.
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