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Wyoming Lawmakers Hoping for iGaming Legalization



Wyoming will at least consider the legalization of iGaming during its 2025 session.

Rep. Bob Davis (R-47) introduced HB 162 to legalize iGaming in the Cowboy State. The piece of legislation would allow for not less than five iGaming operators and sets the state’s iGaming tax rate at 16% of gross gaming revenues.

The bill comes several months after the Wyoming Gaming Commission commissioned a study from Spectrum Gaming Group to evaluate the current gaming market, which concluded that legalized iGaming would be beneficial for the state and not a detriment to its tribal casinos.

 Millions in Potential Tax Revenues

Davis introduced the bill on Tuesday, Jan. 14. It sets the state’s iGaming age at 21 and is currently co-sponsored by several members of House and the Senate. Davis previously introduced a bill during the 2024 legislation session, which did not receive enough support to pass.

State iGaming will be licensed and regulated by the Wyoming Gaming Commission. It sets an initial license application fee at $2,500 and an awarded license fee at $100,000. Licenses will valid for five years and operators will have the opportunity to renew a license for $50,000.

Davis’s bill sets an iGaming tax rate of 16% for an operator’s monthly gross gaming revenues. The first $300,000 of collected tax revenue will be appropriated to the department of health to be distributed for the purpose of funding county health programs to prevent and treat problematic gaming behavior.

The remaining iGaming tax revenues will be distributed as such:

  • 40% to the counties whose portion will be based proportional to its population
  • 50% to the school foundation program
  • 10% to the Wyoming Gaming Commission account, a portion of which shall cover administrative costs and expanse

The bill includes a revenue estimates for legalized iGaming, which believes the state could see an additional $7.38 million in tax revenues for FY 2026, $21.94 million in FY 2027, and $23.86 million in FY 28.

Legalized iGaming in the state is supported by a recently published study commissioned by the Wyoming Gaming Commission, which believes it would not have a negative impact on tribal casinos and their bottom lines.

Spectrum Gaming Group Study Shows Positive iGaming Benefits

The Wyoming Gaming Commission released the results of a Spectrum Gaming Group study this past November, which determined the state could see impactful iGaming revenues.

Based on estimates of a 20% tax rate (the above bill plans to tax iGaming at 16%), the study determined Wyoming could see between $18.6 million and $27.6 million annually, which are similar to the revenue estimates included in the proposed legislation.

Perhaps most importantly, the study found that legalized iGaming would most likely not have a negative impact on the state’s tribal casinos. Spectrum Gaming Group evaluated iGaming legalization’s potential detriment to the current casino market in the state. Every state with legalized iGaming has established casinos, according to the report.

However, of the seven states offering iGaming, only West Virginia “has an extensive distributed gaming industry.” West Virginia offers brick-and-mortar casinos, video lottery games, iGaming, and both in-person and online sports betting in the state.

Evaluating gross gaming revenues in West Virginia, Spectrum Gaming Group found “there has been little to no erosion in the gaming market for casino gaming or VLT games across the state” after iGaming legalization.

“iGaming gross gaming revenue has been accretive rather than cannibalistic to the casino and distributed gaming sectors,” according to the report.


Robert

Robert Linnehan

Covering regulatory developments in online gambling. Editing/writing/creating a newsletter for readers across all formats.



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