Calling the move by the state’s gaming authority “illegal,” Colorado legislators passed a bill prohibiting the use of credit cards to purchase lottery tickets.

In November, the Colorado Lottery commission passed a rule allowing the purchase of lottery products with credit cards, eliciting sharp criticism from more than two dozen legislators, who questioned the gaming body’s authority to do so.

In response to the rule, legislators introduced Senate Bill 117 to require lottery tickets to be sold only for cash.

An additional provision prohibiting the online sale of lottery and scratch game tickets was removed from the bill.

While the state would have brought in an estimated additional $15 million within the first two years of allowing credit card purchases, that revenue would be made “on the backs of people who are just losing money and destroying their lives,” Sen. Judy Amabile, D-Boulder, told her colleagues in the Senate.

The odds of winning the jackpot prize are one in 3.84 million, according to the Colorado Lottery.

“You don’t ever win,” said Amabile, who authored the bill alongside Sen. Jeff Bridges, D-Greenwood Village, and Reps. Javier Mabrey, D-Denver, and Matt Soper, R-Delta. “You only lose, over the long haul. To expand the number of Colorado citizens who are losers in this game seems like a really, really big mistake, and it will have cost to the state that are over and above the revenue that we bring in.”

Lottery spokesperson Meghan Dougherty told Colorado Politics the commission passed the rule changes in accordance with its authority and that the changes went into effect on Nov. 20. She also noted 2022 legislation that allowed the commission to remove restrictions on cashless payments.

“Our leadership and the commission are taking a deliberate and measured approach to ensure proper safeguards are in place to protect our players,” Dougherty said.

The bill passed on a 22-13 vote in the Senate and a 43-21 vote in the House.

Gov. Jared Polis has voiced support for the Lottery Commission’s ruling, according to Colorado Politics news partner 9News.

A spokesperson told 9News that the governor “is supportive of increasing consumer convenience” and stated the rule change “will modernize Colorado’s lottery system and ensure customers don’t need to fumble through several cards to buy what they want.”

The governor’s office did not respond to a request for comment.

Marianne Goodland contributed to this story.