Colorado extends tax incentives to U.K. sports betting company

The Colorado Economic Development Commission extended nearly $19 million in state tax credits on Thursday to two companies that are considering locating more than 1,250 jobs in the state.

The largest award, at $14 million in Job Growth Incentive Tax Credits, went to a sports betting and gaming company from the United Kingdom that is looking to make a $40 million investment to build out 120,000 square feet of office space. Project Forge, the code name given to the applicant, is expected to create 807 net new jobs at an average annual wage of $97,238, which is 108% of the average annual wage in Denver County.

The positions include senior leadership, software developers, data engineers, product and customer service managers, fraud and risk supervisors and traders. The company has more than 6,000 employees, including some at its U.S. base in New Jersey, but none in Colorado. Tucson and Nashville are competing with Denver for what will become the company’s new U.S. office.

“We are excited about the opportunity to work in Denver and Colorado. It seems to be a great fit for us,” said an executive with Project Forge who provided only his first name, Richard.

Project Eye in the Sky, a satellite manufacturer, received the next largest award at $4.9 million in Job Growth Incentive Tax Credits in exchange for creating 451 net new jobs at an average annual wage of $121,421. That represents 140% of the average annual wage in Boulder County, where the company currently has 69 employees out of its total workforce of 72.

The positions would include manufacturing technicians, executives and engineers. West Texas and Florida are also vying for the new manufacturing facility.

“Our company was born and raised here in Colorado. We have some opportunities to expand and if we can, we would like to stay home. The team and myself would love to stay in Colorado,” said a company executive identified as Gregg.

A third award of $519,626 was approved for a turf and landscape maintenance company with a global retail network reaching into 125 countries. It is looking into establishing a research and development hub for its robotics division that could bring 45 jobs to Weld County paying an average annual wage of $106,889, which is 180% of that county’s average. It is also looking at Minnesota.

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