Wyoming Eyes Online Gambling Legalization in 2025

By Todd Winkler,
Editor at online-gambling.com

Todd Winkler Editor at online-gambling.com

Todd Winkler is another one of our highly professional editors at online-gambling.com. The expert has been part of our team for 6 years, during which time he contributed articles regarding poker, blackjack, and DFS. Winkler is also knowledgeable about New Zealand's legal gambling market.

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Last updated: December 9, 2024

Wyoming is once again considering the legalization of online gambling in 2025. The news comes following an unsuccessful attempt earlier this year. Key stakeholders, from lawmakers to tribal representatives, are considering the positives and negatives of this move. But what will happen? Will the new legislation succeed, or is it bound to fail again? Let’s find out more.

Legislative Vision and Potential Economic Impact

State Representative Robert Davis is at the front of the new effort to legalize online gambling in Wyoming. His plan is to reintroduce an online casino bill in December 2024. This is highly motivated by the results of a study carried out by Spectrum Gaming Group on behalf of the Wyoming Gaming Commission.

According to the official report, the online gambling revenue in the first year alone could be between $93 million and $138 million, which is a rather good start. Moreover, the study suggests that by the end of year five, this amount could reach around $162 million to $199 million annually.

The online gambling tax potential is also impressive, being estimated at between $19 million and $28 million in the first year and up to $40 million by the 5th year. This will be very beneficial for the state as already proven by the tax revenue stream from the legalized sports betting sector in Wyoming.

Past Efforts to Legalize Online Casinos

We already mentioned that this won’t be the first attempt for Wyoming to legalize online casinos. The last attempt was just recently, in early 2024, when House Bill 120 was introduced by Representatives Jon Conrad, Robert Davis, Sandy Newsome, and Tom Walters. However, the legislation didn’t move passed committee discussions.

Existing Legal Gambling Landscape in Wyoming

As of writing this article, Wyoming regulates pari-mutuel horse racing, historical horse racing, skill-based amusement games, online sports betting, fantasy sports, and charitable gaming. There are no commercial casinos, but you can play at three Native American gambling establishments operated by two local tribes – the Northern Arapaho and Eastern Shoshone.

Following the legalization of online sports betting in 2021, the gambling industry in the state has grown significantly, reaching an impressive figure of more than $1 billion a year. This is obviously very tempting, considering the positive financial impact of potentially legalizing online casinos as well. However, despite the benefits, the latest legislation is bound to face some challenges.

Challenges and Legislative Pathway

The Northern Arapaho Tribe has raised concerns regarding the potentially negative impact that the legalization of online casinos might have on the land-based gambling establishments in the state. In fact, we’ve already seen that happen in a few other states, including New Jersey, with Atlantic City casinos reporting a drop in revenue in Q3 of 2024.

Another concern is that the timeframe for the legislation to be presented and debated might not be enough time, with the next Wyoming legislative session running from January 14 to March 6, 2025. We’ll make sure to follow up on the topic and keep you up to date with the latest news around it in the upcoming months.