Wyoming joins the iGaming race with a casino bill

The gambling landscape in the United States is changing rapidly, and since the defeat of PASPA in 2018, more states have decided to pursue the expansion of various verticals. Although the bulk of those efforts had remained somewhat limited to sports betting, many states are now pushing to introduce online casinos or iGaming, as the segment is known.

The latest comes from Wyoming and Rep. Robert Davis who filed HB 120 last week, hoping that he could turn the Cowboy State into one of the still few online casino jurisdictions in the country. Another similar move has come from Alabama, which is hoping to introduce land-based casinos, a state lottery, and sports gambling, but has made no mention of online casinos.

Should Wyoming see HB 120 through, it would become the sixth state to provide iGaming products to locals. Davis is committed to seizing the market back from rogue operators that target the state and its residents from offshore locations and syphon off revenue from the state without any consideration for player well-being, the argument runs.

However, Wyoming has some advantages, too. For one, the state already features four sports betting apps and four Indian casinos, which may be keen to expand further into online gambling. However, the casinos themselves do not operate interactive gambling products and it is unclear whether Davis had included them in discussions to legalize online gambling.

The four casinos are run by the Northern Arapaho Tribe and the Eastern Shoshone Tribe of the Wind River Reservation, with each owning two. As to HB 120’s specifics, they seem to be well-adjusted to the market realities and projects are rather well-aligned with the size of the Cowboy State.

For starters, there will be no fewer than five iGaming operator permits. The minimum gambling age for online casino play will be set at 18, and there will be an initial fee to run a license of $100,000, to be followed by a $50,000 payable every five years for license renewal. Online casinos will be taxed at 10%, and HB 120 also wants to make sure that local poker is part of the multistate agreement so that it is a viable segment in the state as well.

The bill also appoints the Wyoming Gaming Commission as the body in charge of iGaming and it would expect an annual fund of $300,000 to go to the treatment and prevention of problem gambling in the state. Meanwhile, there is no shortage of potentially interested companies, as the four that are currently up and running with interactive sports betting, to wit FanDuel, DraftKings, Caesars, and BetMGM, already operate online casino licenses in other states.

Another important detail is that Gov. Mark Gordon, who gave his signature for sports betting legislation, is still in office, which means he may do the same once again. The state’s legislative session lasts only 20 days a year, and it starts today, February 12, 2024, and will run through February 21, 2024.

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