When you think about Wyoming businesses, you might think about cattle ranchers, national park vendors, or oil and gas developers. But, as the state rises to the top for new business filings nationwide, the lineup now includes some potentially unexpected names.
One company, for example, looks to be creating a mobile golf game where you play as President Donald Trump.
“Look at that beautiful swing. Isn’t it perfect?” says what sounds like an AI-generated Trump in a preview for the yet-to-be-released game.
Developers say users could pay about $100 to virtually play with Trump’s signature driver.
“The greatest golf game ever created,” the Trump voice claims.
The Wyoming-registered company is also an early user of the state’s new chancery court. It had a business dispute earlier this year over who gets to develop the game with trademarked Trump material.
“Never a boring day in chancery court,” Judge Ben Burningham said, laughing.
He’s an expert in complex litigation and is the chancery court's first and only full-time judge.
“I love the law. I love to read the law. I love to write about the law,” he said.
The court was created in 2019 to resolve business and trust cases quickly. It wraps up cases in an average of 116 days versus potentially over a year in district court.
Burningham, who appears to be an even-keeled family man, just got his robe last March. Part-time judges took cases before that. He said the court saw six cases in 2022. In 2025, it had 48.
Some are from companies located in Wyoming, like a pair of fireworks sellers whose relationship went up in flames. Many others involve businesses that are registered in the state, but filings don’t show if they have physical ties here, like the Trump golf case.
“Having a specialized forum that can offer predictable, focused, and fair resolution of business disputes has only helped draw companies to the state,” Burningham said.
Companies are increasingly filing in Western states because of favorable business laws.
Parties in several chancery court cases declined Wyoming Public Radio’s interview request or didn’t respond.
Wyoming is the birthplace of LLCs. Businesses do pay the state to file, but the fee is relatively small, and filing is anonymous. Also, there’s no corporate income tax. Add the chancery court on top of all that, and businesses can save time — and time is money for companies.
Out west, Wyoming was ahead of the herd in starting a court. Utah and Texas followed its lead, opening their doors in 2024.
“I think a lot of people don't realize that states are competing with each other for corporate domiciles,” said Cheyenne-based attorney Matt Kaufman, who pushed the state to develop the court.
He said Delaware has long been the leading state for companies to “domicile,” or register as a business. It’s also home to the nation’s first chancery court, founded in 1792. However, Delaware’s status may be slipping.
“We just saw an enormous wave of people suddenly coming to Wyoming,” Kaufman recalled.
Almost a decade ago, he said Wyoming started leading the way in blockchain, cryptocurrency and other digital assets, and businesses took notice.
“ So instead of people forming companies and going and raising venture capital and just having to default to Delaware because that's what everybody does and that’s what everybody expects, suddenly, Wyoming is this also acceptable jurisdiction,” Kaufman said.
Many are Wyoming businesses in name only. Kaufman said some may want headquarters here, but there are sometimes not enough workers.
Still, in the past few years, Wyoming has overtaken Delaware as the state with the most new businesses per capita, according to U.S. Census Bureau data.
Then, there’s the Elon Musk factor.
In late 2024, the Delaware chancery court rejected his $56 billion Tesla CEO pay package. Musk then urged companies to leave the state, and some did, in a phenomenon dubbed as “DExit.”
Not many household names ended up in Wyoming, but Musk took Tesla to Texas. Nevada got Dropbox and Tripadvisor.
“One critical lapse in judgment can actually drive a mass move out of state,” said Anahit Baghshetsyan, an analyst at Nevada Policy, a libertarian think tank.
Baghshetsyan has been researching chancery courts as her state considers creating one of its own. She said the state could benefit economically. Unlike Wyoming, Baghshetsyan said, Nevada has a big pool of workers, so companies may want to relocate there.
“It would also be a great opportunity to headquarter within the state and host conventions and seminars and conferences within the state, and that would be driving business and foot traffic to the Silver State as well,” she added.
Nevada lawmakers already voted in favor of creating a chancery court in 2024, but in order to amend the state’s constitution, the proposal needs more approval. Lawmakers could vote again in 2027 and residents could vote the following year.
Baghshetsyan said she’s heard pushback over states prioritizing quick litigation for corporations, rather than cases involving housing, for instance. Business communities would also have to buy in.
In Wyoming, convincing them is part of the chancery court judge’s job.
“I certainly feel a sense of responsibility and a weight on my shoulder,” Burningham said. “I think I feel that every day.”
But he said that’s what drives him to build up the court, “and help it develop a reputation of deciding things correctly based on the law and deciding them quickly.”
From the Trump golf game case to the Wyoming fireworks one, he said everyone deserves a fair resolution.
This story was produced by the Mountain West News Bureau, a collaboration between Boise State Public Radio, Wyoming Public Media, Nevada Public Radio, KUNR in Nevada, KUNC in Northern Colorado, KANW in New Mexico, Colorado Public Radio and KJZZ in Arizona as well as NPR, with support from affiliate newsrooms across the region. Funding for the Mountain West News Bureau is provided in part by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting and Eric and Wendy Schmidt.
