Gov. Jared Polis on Friday signed legislation to block the Colorado Lottery’s move to allow the purchase of tickets with credit cards, effectively reversing his earlier position.

Last November, Polis had said that he supported the decision of the Colorado Lottery commission to allow that change.

“The governor is supportive of increasing consumer convenience, and the proposed rule change will modernize Colorado’s lottery system and ensure customers don’t need to fumble through several cards to buy what they want or have to pay for some things with a credit card and some with cash,” the governor’s office had told Colorado Politics then.

Credit card sales for lottery tickets aren’t new. About 26 states already allow the practice. Just as many states don’t, including Colorado.

The commission’s decision to allow credit card purchases didn’t go over well with lawmakers, who sent a strongly-worded letter to the lottery body prior to its Nov. 20 vote. In that letter, the legislators disputed the commission’s authority to allow credit card sales.

The letter from 25 lawmakers, which included legislative leaders, urged the commission to present the proposal to the Colorado General Assembly for consideration during the 2026 session.

The commission, claiming it had the authority under state law, went ahead and approved the rules changes anyway.

That set up a showdown at the state Capitol with Senate Bill 117.

The bill passed both the House and Senate with bipartisan votes.

In the Senate, cosponsor Sen. Judy Amabile, D-Boulder, told her colleagues the additional $15 million in revenue from credit card sales over the first two years would be made “on the backs of people who are just losing money and destroying their lives.”

Retailers who have sold lottery tickets for decades also backed the bill.

The credit card rule would not change the commission revenue that retailers earn from selling lottery tickets. However, because retailers typically pay around 4% in credit card processing fees, those fees could significantly decrease their commission.

The Colorado Wyoming Petroleum Marketers Association, in a letter to the lottery commission in November, said that using credit cards is not mandatory and that the loss of commission revenue could prompt retailers to stop accepting them. Another retail group, Union Pacific, raised some of the same objections.

The Colorado Lottery had hoped to begin allowing credit card sales by Jan. 1, 2027.