Wyoming has seen several iGaming bills stall in the legislature, but now a committee consisting of members of the House and Senate has been formed to address future online casino gambling legislation and make appropriate recommendations.
Designated Committee
Wyoming launched online mobile sports betting in September 2021, but attempts to expand the Cowboy State’s gaming footprint to include iGaming have come up woefully short. However, there appears to be a thawing in the state’s resistance, as evidenced by a special committee being formed to exclusively scrutinize future online casino gambling bills.
The committee will be comprised of three House and three Senate members, led by co-chairs Representative Jayme Lien and Senator John Kolb. Five gaming bills died in the state legislature this session, including House Bill 162, which would have launched the online casino gambling industry in Wyoming had it been approved.
“The issue is, there’s no home committee for gaming,” said Senator Kolb. “It’s been kind of the unwanted child, getting passed from committee to committee.”
In 2024, the Joint Appropriations Committee formed a subcommittee to refer gaming bills to the legislature, but House Bill 162 was nixed due to concerns about the deleterious impact on tribal casino gaming revenue and fears concerning problem gambling addiction.
Both of those concerns are the primary reasons why iGaming has received a chilly reception throughout the nation despite revenues towering above those rendered by mobile sports betting. Only seven states, including New Jersey, Delaware, West Virginia, Pennsylvania, Michigan, Connecticut and Rhode Island, have launched online casino gambling compared to the 39 states that have approved sports betting.
Study Results
The Spectrum Gaming Group recently released its findings to the Wyoming Gaming Commission from a study commissioned by the legislature on the effects of expanding the gaming landscape, which included online casino gambling, simulcasting from state horse tracks, and historical horse racing machines.
One of the primary roadblocks iGaming has faced in other states is the cannibalization of business from commercial land-based casinos. But that is not an issue in Wyoming, as the state has no commercial casinos. However, there are four tribal casinos, including those owned by the Northern Arapaho Tribe, which operate The Wind River Hotel and Casino, Little Wind Casino, and 789 Casino. The Eastern Shoshone Tribe owns and operates the Shoshone Rose Casino and Hotel.
“Wyoming appears to be in an enviable position to expand its gaming operations to include internet gaming should it decide to proceed with this endeavor,” the report reads.
Based on a 20% tax rate, the study projects the state would reap between $19 million and $28 million in taxes solely from online casino gambling based on gross revenues of between $96 million and $142 million if it were launched in 2025.
Compare that to the relatively paltry $3.78 million the state has received since online sports betting was launched four years ago at a tax rate of 10% on net proceeds. Wyoming has the lowest population in the nation, with only 584,000 residents, and that, coupled with no professional sports teams, depresses sports betting revenue.
