Wyoming’s House of Representatives rejects a discussion on legalizing online gambling
The Wyoming House has decided not to consider online casinos after voting 25-36-1 against taking up iGaming legislation in this year’s session. HB 120 was filed last week by Representative Robert Davis, who hoped his colleagues would approve the bill. They let him down.
Wyoming is currently in a short budget session, with less than a month to move legislation through the House, which requires a two-thirds vote for bills to be introduced and officially assigned to a committee.
Representative John Winter stated that a Wyoming Gaming Commission representative told legislators that the agency wasn’t prepared for Wyoming to approve online casinos. “It’s my understanding that the gaming commission wants to shut this down,” said Winter. “They think it’s going too fast and they’re concerned about the youngsters that have telephones that can do this gaming.”
Davis was the president of the Wyoming Gaming Commission in 2020 and disagreed with the idea that the commission needs more time. “As far as the gaming commission stance, three years ago, when I served on the commission, this was on their radar,” he added.
With the short legislative session, the gaming commission’s stance makes sense regarding the timing. Lawmakers could spend more time sorting out the details of online casino legislation in a state without any retail casinos.
Wyoming lawmakers rejected sports betting legislation in a brief budget session in 2020 but returned to pass online sports betting legislation during a full session the following year.
Next year, Wyoming online casino legislation can go straight to a committee hearing without a vote on the floor. The session will convene for a month longer, giving lawmakers more time to debate the bill.
