Colorado Department of Revenue Takes Its Gambling Intercept Payment System One Step Further with Court Ordered Restitution

Gambling winnings can now be intercepted by casinos and racetracks to compensate crime victims

DENVER--(BUSINESS WIRE)--On July 1, 2011 Colorado casinos and racetracks began diverting gambling winnings from people who owe restitution to crime victims.

“This addition to the system will introduce new avenues for collecting restitution owed to Colorado crime victims”

The new law is an update of a 2008 statute that requires the Department of Revenue to intercept outstanding child support from casino and racetrack cash winnings in excess of $1,200.

“This Gambling Intercept Payment system has been extremely successful in recovering delinquent child support payments, “said Roxy Huber, Executive Director of the Colorado Department of Revenue. “To date, Department of Revenue has recovered more than $1.1 million for Colorado’s children.”

Colorado was the first State to require casinos to intercept cash winnings for Colorado court-ordered child support payments. Since then, several States have followed suit including Louisiana and Indiana.

“This addition to the system will introduce new avenues for collecting restitution owed to Colorado crime victims,” continued Huber.

Restitution is ordered by a court in a criminal case where the defendant’s conduct caused a loss to a person or company.

“The Colorado Judicial Department places a premium on making victims whole and assisting victims in collecting restitution,” said State Court Administrator Gerald Marroney. “We are pleased to embrace this new online avenue for ensuring that outstanding restitution is diverted and paid.”

The update to the Gambling Intercept Payment system has been made possible through a partnership between Department of Revenue and Colorado.gov, which helps State and local government put their services online.

About Colorado Department of Revenue

The Colorado Department of Revenue interacts with every citizen in the state. The Department administers Colorado's tax system, including state sales, fuel, motor vehicle, gaming, liquor, income, racing, cigarette, severance and estate taxes. Each year, the Department processes 4.3 million pieces of incoming and 6.1 million pieces of outgoing mail and handles $10.2 billion in tax revenues. Through its Division of Motor Vehicles, the Department oversees more than 5 million vehicle registrations and 3.6 million driver's licenses. The Department also enforces liquor and tobacco laws, administers auto industry licensing, oversees limited gaming and racing, regulates medical marijuana centers and operates the state lottery.

About Colorado.gov

Colorado.gov is the official website of the State of Colorado (http://www.colorado.gov) and is overseen by the Statewide Internet Portal Authority. Colorado.gov helps State and local government entities Web-enable their services and is operated without tax funds through a public-private partnership between the state and Colorado Interactive, LLC. Colorado Interactive builds, operates, maintains, and markets Colorado.gov and is part of eGovernment firm NIC’s (NASDAQ: EGOV) family of companies.

About NIC

NIC Inc. (NASDAQ: EGOV) is the nation's leading provider of official government portals, online services, and secure payment processing solutions. The company's innovative eGovernment services help reduce costs and increase efficiencies for government agencies, citizens, and businesses across the country. NIC provides eGovernment solutions for more than 3,000 federal, state, and local agencies across the United States. Additional information is available at http://www.egov.com.