A lodging tax that would add a 6 percent daily charge on Cripple Creek hotel rooms was being approved Tuesday by voters in the gambling town west of Colorado Springs, where several hotel projects are in the works.

The tax was winning by a roughly 62 percent-to-38 percent margin, according to unofficial results compiled by the Teller County Clerk & Recorder’s Office.

If approved, the tax would take effect Jan. 1 and authorize Cripple Creek to collect up to $600,000 annually, although city officials estimate the first-year take would be $200,000 to $250,000, said City Administrator Ray DuBois.

The Cripple Creek City Council put the measure on Tuesday’s ballot to help fund city operations. Since 2008, Cripple Creek has seen a steady decline in revenues generated from the town’s gaming industry, DuBois said. Colorado voters approved limited stakes gaming in Cripple Creek and two other Colorado towns in 1990.

Lodging taxes are common around the country; many communities rely on them as a revenue source that taxes visitors, but, for the most part, isn’t paid by local residents. Colorado Springs has had a 2 percent levy on hotel rooms since 1980, while Denver has a 10.75 percent lodging tax.

Despite a steady increase in hotel rooms since the advent of casino gambling, Cripple Creek didn’t have a lodging tax and two previous ballot proposals to enact a tax were rejected by voters in recent years.

Unlike previous proposals, Tuesday’s measure spelled out how the money would be spent – for economic and community development, tourism and marketing, DuBois said.

Also, unlike a previous proposal, the new 6 percent measure – $6 on a $100 hotel room – will not be applied to free rooms provided to hotel guests. Casino hotels – from Cripple Creek to Las Vegas to Atlantic City – routinely provide complimentary rooms to their best patrons.

The Cripple Creek Gaming Association, which represents the local gambling industry, supported Tuesday’s measure, DuBois said.

The tax will be applied to hotel and motel rooms, bed and breakfasts, guest house rooms and recreational vehicle pads – among other spaces – where users stay for less than 30 consecutive days. The city estimates there are 400 to 420 spaces where the tax will be applied, with most of them casino hotel rooms, DuBois said.

More rooms are on the way, however.

This week, the company that owns Bronco Billy’s Casino & Hotel in Cripple Creek announced plans to build a 150-room, upscale hotel connected to the gaming hall. Three other casino operators also have announced plans that could bring another 260 rooms; those projects are in various stages of development.