Wyoming State House Considers Online Casino Gaming Bill

Wyoming, the state with the smallest population in the U.S., is making strides toward expanding its gambling options. Legislators have introduced a bill aimed at legalizing online casino gaming, following the state’s previous move to allow online sports betting in 2021.

What You Need to Know

• Wyoming seeks to legalize online casino gaming, including poker, to expand gambling options beyond 2021’s sports betting legalization.
• The proposed bill allows for shared player liquidity with other states, enhancing online poker’s viability due to Wyoming’s small population.
• The bill details regulatory measures, including a $100,000 initial licensing fee for operators (renewable at $50,000 every five years), a 10% tax on online gaming revenue, and allocates $300,000 annually for problem gambling initiatives.

This bill proposes to enable online poker and other casino games, recognizing the need for Wyoming to potentially share players with other states due to its limited population of 585,000. Such shared liquidity could enhance the online poker market’s viability within the state.

According to the bill, the state gaming commission would regulate online casino games, including poker, blackjack, slots, and others typically found in casinos, as well as any new games approved by the commission.

The initiative, supported by four Republican representatives, outlines a licensing framework for up to five operators, with an initial license fee of $100,000 and a renewal fee of $50,000 every five years. Vendor permits would be set at $10,000, with a renewal fee of $5,000 every five years.

Poker’s inclusion is a really interesting one. This opens Wyoming to participate in the Multi-State Internet Gaming Agreement (MSIGA), joining states like Nevada, Michigan, New Jersey, and Delaware in shared interstate poker player pools.

The bill specifies conditions under which Wyoming’s online gaming operators could accept wagers from players in other states, given reciprocal agreements. It sets a 10% tax rate on all online gaming revenue, with $300,000 annually dedicated to addressing problem gambling. The minimum age for online gaming participation would be 18.

Wyoming is already home to tribal casinos, horse racing, and charitable gaming. The potential addition of online gaming and poker represents a new direction for the state’s gambling landscape, though the bill’s passage and its impacts remain to be seen.

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