DENVER - April 27, 2011 - The Senate Business, Labor and Technology Committee will take up a proposal next week to fund higher education by expanding gambling in Colorado.

Senate Bill 11-233 would allow video lottery terminals for horse racing to be set up in two communities.

"The benefits are three-fold," said the bill's co-sponsor, Sen. Lois Tochtrop, D-Adams County. "It will provide jobs, help us fund higher education and will help keep money in Colorado."

Tochtrop said Colorado is currently losing out on a lot of horse racing money.

"Particularly in southern Colorado because a lot of people there are going down to New Mexico (to bet on horse races) and we want to capture that money and bring it back to Colorado," she said.

But some people say the VLTs are a bad bet.

"I'm strongly opposed to 233," said Arapahoe County Sheriff Grayson Robinson. "The people of Colorado have spoken clearly at the ballot box. They do not want expansion of the gaming industry beyond Black Hawk, Central City and Cripple Creek."

Robinson said the County Sheriffs of Colorado voted Friday to oppose the measure.

"It will place a strain on infrastructure and will require more law enforcement and public safety response," Robinson said. "I see that as an unfunded mandate from the state and it's not acceptable."

Tochtrop counters that the money that could be generated -- an estimated $40-million -- is sorely needed for higher education.

"College students are absolutely ecstatic," she said. "They think it will help lower their tuition."

But Robinson notes that none of that money is earmarked to help the communities that would be impacted by the influx of people betting on horse races.

That's why Aurora and Arapahoe County have come out in opposition to the bill.

Sponsors say they will offer an amendment next week requiring a vote by the governing board or by the citizens of a community where the VLTs are proposed.

Under the bill, only a pari-mutual licensee that owns or controls a licensed track can install or operate the VLTs, and only in an age-controlled area.

Read More: The Denver Channel