The Colorado Lottery will host its first “game development hackathon,” which will enable participants to create new lottery games and win up to $10,000.

“With a digital technology company launched every 72 hours in our state, Colorado is home to a cornucopia of talent and dynamic developers that creates rich soil for innovation,” said Tom Seaver, the director of the Colorado Lottery. “We are excited to leverage the creativity of these local resources and innovation from around the globe to create new game ideas, all to support our beneficiaries.” 

The “GameJam” is open to participants everywhere, not only Colorado. The games created will be destined for restaurants and bars, and are known as “monitor games.” Players place bets by giving a paper list to their servers or bartenders, and then watch the results of their bet on a screen or monitor.

Games should last between two and four minutes and may operate only on chance, not skill. Submissions for games must take place between July 31 and Aug. 9. There will be monetary prizes for the top three games, with the first place winner receiving $10,000.

The lottery cautioned that “because we plan on integrating concepts from the top 3 winning game designs into final versions for people to enjoy at restaurants and bars across Colorado, you’ll need to provide the code and other assets for exclusive use by the Colorado Lottery.”