Lawmakers have considered at least 10 draft bills during the interim, all related to the state’s booming gaming industry. Historic horse racing machines (HHR), zoning laws around off-track betting locations and revenue from the gaming industry are some of the topics lawmakers are attempting to debate before the session next year.
The three committees that met to discuss these bills all listed gaming as a priority in a memorandum released earlier this year by the Management Council. Some lawmakers see the industry’s success as an opportunity to increase available funds to the state. Others feel Wyoming communities may become second to the industry’s needs, and those in the Freedom Caucus are wary of any tax increase that would bring about more revenue.
Capital Finance Committee
Notably, disagreement over four draft bills under consideration in the Capital Finance Committee ultimately led that body to adjourn early, discussing only two of their four bill drafts
Gaming-central monitoring system
This bill would have the Wyoming Gaming Commission develop a central monitoring system for the different types of gaming it already oversees. The draft bill defined which gaming machines would be monitored, how the commission would retrieve data, provide a way for machines to receive updates and set up ways to disable out-of-compliance machines.
Gaming Commission Director Nicholas Laramendy answered lawmakers’ questions on how the commission would go about planning, hiring, and funding such a project. A representative from Cowboy Skill & Pace-O-Matic suggested the industry was already reporting and in compliance with the commission’s regulations.
Lawmakers spent nearly an hour discussing the bill, as well as crafting potential amendments. Upon a roll call vote to move the bill forward, it failed to pass the committee, at which point Sen. Tara Nethercott (R-Cheyenne) asked, “Should we quit for the day?”
“I'd entertain a motion to adjourn. It's not debatable,” said Nethercott. The motion failed, but Nethercott added, “I hope we're not committing any waste, fraud, or abuse. A lot of LSO [Legislative Service Office] time is here, a lot of legislative time is here, a lot of concerns on gaming, but we'll see if we can accomplish anything, huh?” before moving to the next bill.
Online sports wagering-revenue remittance amendments
This bill would have increased the amount of online sports wagering revenue that must be remitted to the state, an increase from 10% to 20%.
Lawmakers on the Capital Finance Committee spent time asking LSO questions about the bill, discussing amounts and definitions, before ultimately failing to pass it.
Sarah Filosa is a representative from the Sports Betting Alliance, a group that presents the interests of FanDuels, DraftKings, BetMGM and Bet365 to politicians across the country. She suggested that raising the tax rate would interrupt a period of growth in Wyoming and prompt their users to seek out illegal betting sites that could potentially offer better odds.
“If we have to take on a 100% tax increase in a state, then we no longer will invest in those educational tools that will educate a consumer in the same way that we would in states that offer much more economic tax rates to properly educate consumers on the dangers that exist in working on an illegal site,” Filosa said.
Nethercott pressed Filosa, asking, “I'd like to know how much money has been invested in informing consumers in the same way that you've informed our constituents about the threat of tax hikes, about how to verify a safe online betting platform, [because] I haven't seen those ads with how quickly and adeptly you can communicate with the citizens of Wyoming on their handheld devices.”
Sen. Mike Gierau (R-Jackson) also questioned Filosa about her statement.
“You're going to stick with the testimony that different platforms charge different odds to different states based on their tax formula, because I haven't seen any evidence of that,” he said. “But that's your testimony. I just want to make sure we're really clear on that.”
“Yes, that is correct. It does influence how odds and lines are placed,” Filosa replied.
Sen. Gary Crum (R-Laramie) suggested they table the bill, believing they did not have enough information.
Rep. John Bear (R-Gillette) said he would vote against the bill, believing high taxes would make the state eventually dependent on “promoting gambling to maintain our revenues.”
“I'm in no rush to be the high tax leader of the states,” he said. ”I also don't believe that this particular sin tax is going to fix the problem. I think what it is, is it’s going to create a problem for the state of Wyoming: We're going to generate more revenue,” said Bear. “It's clearly something that many of my colleagues are hungry for: to get more revenue. And what does more revenue do? It makes the state more dependent on this type of activity.”
Expecting this bill to now fail as well, Nethercott commented, “Big sigh of relief for the operators in the room, nothing is going to look any different for you in 2026.”
Nethercott said, without support from the House side of the committee, considering these bills would have to start in the House next session. “I think the matter is done.”
The committee held a roll call vote and adjourned for the day, their final meeting listed for the year.
Gaming Committee
The Gaming Committee, comparatively, was much more successful in its recent discussions, managing to move two bills forward to the Management Council for consideration and sponsorship, alongside three bills to be discussed further.
Gambling amendments
This bill’s goal is to clarify and define legal definitions related to gaming and gambling enforcement. LSO sought the input of the Gaming Commission, the Association of Sheriffs and Chiefs, as well as the Wyoming Liquor Commission. A Laramie County district attorney who prosecuted a case about “bona fide social relationships” and “poker houses” also presented to the committee.
While laws and statutes already regulate the industry, the committee believed that terms like "bona fide social relationship” and “profit” need simpler definitions.
The Laramie County district attorney and Gaming Commission director agreed that a simplification of definitions would make prosecuting betting houses or back-room gambling easier.
However, lawmakers felt the need to be cautious, otherwise they may end up outlawing friends who play card games after work or bar patrons who bet $10 on polls. They also did not want to complicate definitions already spelled out in the bill, such as adding "economic gain,” despite the term “gain” being defined in legislation.
Lawmakers spent well over an hour attempting to create a bill that would help, not hinder, the Gaming Commission's and law enforcement's ability to prosecute gambling crimes. However, as Sen. Barry Crago (R-Buffalo) said, “Every time we close one loophole, we open another.”
Three proposed amendments failed to pass before the committee asked LSO to review the language during a break. Eventually, lawmakers proposed and passed two amendments to the bill. One looked to define “bona fide social relationships” as a relationship that exists beyond having gaming as a similar interest. The second was an amendment to ensure individuals can’t make money off hosting or organizing games or wagers, other than the “direct relaxation of their winning.”
The committee voted to send the bill to the Management Council for sponsorship.
Anti-money laundering
This bill’s goal is to prevent the use of gaming establishments and operations as a vehicle for money laundering. Based on legislation crafted from a New Jersey law, the bill attempts to create a comprehensive money laundering ban? where there was none before.
LSO expanded the bill to create two new crimes: money laundering and illegal investment. Money laundering would be defined as “transporting, processing, or engaging in control or direct” with proceeds that a person should reasonably know are illegitimate. An illegal investment would concern subverting reporting laws.
Allan Thompson with the Wyoming Association of Sheriffs and Chiefs of Police said the bill had support among law enforcement. However, similar to the last bill, Thompson suggested clarifying terms and punishments so that the bill would face less scrutiny during the session. During questioning, Thompson also suggested that crimes like these tend to be investigated primarily by the Wyoming Gaming Commission.
Lawmakers voted to move the bill forward without any amendments, as well as send the bill to the Management Council Committee for sponsorship.
Pari-mutuel simulcasting amendments, local approval for simulcasting, and historic horse racing-permitting moratorium
A topic that was hotly debated in a previous meeting, the Gaming Committee sought to solve a problem that’s become a growing concern for towns and cities: How much say do local powers have to regulate, or in some cases, stop the expansion of gaming assets like more historic horse racing (HHR) machines.
Lawmakers on the committee concluded that the current legal framework only allows for the approval of new gaming locations, such as off-track betting sites. Local governments and the Wyoming Gaming Commission didn’t have an alternative to approve new facilities unless the operator was a clear legal risk or had prior issues of concern.
To address this, lawmakers suggested two different bills.
Under 26LSO-0168 Pari-Mutuel Simulcasting Amendments, zoning would become the primary tool for towns and cities to regulate new gaming sites.
26LSO-0145 Local Approval for Simulcasting would allow cities and towns to more directly approve or deny a permit for the creation of gaming buildings, like off-track betting locations.
Additionally, 26LSO-0152 Historic Horse Racing Permitting Moratorium would take on a maximum number of HHR machines, prohibiting the approval of new terminals until previously approved terminals have become active.
The committee was busy, as all the major players in Wyoming’s gaming industry attended to provide commentary.
Kyle Ridgeway with Wyoming Downs and 307 Horse Racing opposed giving towns the power of approval through zoning. He suggested the process already had zoning powers in play, even if the zones aren’t regulated specifically around gaming establishments. He used his company's Ridge Road location in Cheyenne as an example.
“The city council has delegated its zoning authority to the board of adjustment. And as I understand it, the city council appoints members to serve on the board of adjustment,” said Ridegway. “What we had to do for this Ridge Road property is apply for a zone special use permit because under the city of Cheyenne code, pari-mutuel wagering is considered an 'other use' that requires a special use. So Ridge Road was a commercial business-zoned property.”
Ridgeway suggested the alternative bill, 26LSO-0145 - Local Approval for Simulcasting, was a better option for the industry.
Opposite of Ridgeway, Affie Ellis with Cowboy Racing supported the bill. She suggested legislation like this, if done right, will make it easier for businesses to operate in the long run.
“If a municipality or county zones for simulcasting, either by zoning in or zoning out, applicants like Cowboy Racing would know where we can propose a facility and where we cannot. That provides business certainty. So we support this legislation, so long as those zoning ordinances are developed to be general and uniform in operation and not designed to create a monopoly or, in our case in Wyoming, a duopoly,” said Ellis.
After spending over three hours hearing from LSO, industry leaders, legal specialists, state officials and a member of the public, the committee was only able to add a few wording adjustments to 26LSO-0168 Pari-Mutuel Simulcasting Amendments. However, the committee believed the issue was too complex and that continuing to add amendments in such a small timeframe would likely kill the bill during the session. The committee requested an extra day to finalize the three remaining draft bills.
Gaming proceeds-outdoor recreation
The Outdoor Recreation Committee briefly dipped its legislative toe into the water, crafting and sponsoring 26LSO-0114 v0.3 Gaming proceeds-outdoor recreation in mid-August. The bill would earmark $300,000 for the Wyoming Department of Health, then split the remaining proceeds between the General Fund and the Wyoming Outdoor Recreation and Tourism Trust account.
This reporting was made possible by a grant from the Corporation For Public Broadcasting, supporting state government coverage in the state. Wyoming Public Media and Jackson Hole Community Radio are partnering to cover state issues both on air and online.
