The Wyoming Gaming Commission (WGC) is evaluating the potential expansion of its gaming market in a recent study conducted in partnership with Spectrum Gaming Group.
The WGC commissioned Spectrum Gaming Group to conduct the study with an evaluation of the state’s gaming statutes and regulations regarding online sports betting, skill-based amusement games, historical horse racing, charitable gaming and pari-mutuel racing.
Wyoming’s sports betting market
Wyoming is home to only Native American casinos with no commercial facilities. The three Native American casinos operate independently under gaming compacts. Wyoming’s gaming industry, which authorized online sports wagering in 2021, generates more than $1 billion in gross gaming revenue annually. Wyoming became the second U.S. gaming market after Tennessee to launch an online-only sports betting model without retail wagering.
The Cowboy State is home to five online sportsbooks that were approved by the WGC. The WGC has a biannual operating budget for 2025 and 2026 of approximately $11.3 million.
Wyoming, a state with no professional sports teams, benefits from neighboring states that don’t offer online wagering. The states include Montana and South Dakota. For the rolling 12 months, Wyoming has a sports wagering handle per capita of $325. By comparison, Montana has a per capita handle of $57 with South Dakota at roughly $10.
Online sports betting in Wyoming is poised to maintain its popularity due to favorable year-over-year growth and its high handle per capita despite not being home to any pro sports teams. With more than 90% of wagering in regulated states being conducted online, Spectrum determined that Wyoming’s brick-and-mortar gaming establishments will not face future cannibalization due to no ties or partnerships with the state’s tribe-owned casinos.
Projections of iGaming in Wyoming
Spectrum also provided projections for Wyoming as an online casino market. Wyoming has yet to authorize iGaming but Spectrum used performance benchmarks from regulated iGaming markets to provide estimates of potential online casino revenue in the state.
If legal in 2024, Wyoming iGaming could have produced gross gaming revenue of between $93.4 million and $138.4 million. Spectrum also considered Wyoming’s 20% tax on gross gaming revenue on skill-based games and historical racing. It has determined that Wyoming’s 20% rate falls in line with standards followed by regulated iGaming markets.
There are concerns regarding how iGaming can impact retail gaming establishments in Wyoming. Spectrum compared West Virginia’s gaming market to Wyoming to paint a picture of what iGaming could look like in the state. Spectrum used West Virginia due to its distributed gaming industry that includes retail casinos, iGaming, video lottery and sports wagering. By evaluating revenue by counties, Spectrum saw “little to no erosion of the gaming market for casino gaming or VLT games” with iGaming in West Virginia.
The lack of cannibalization in West Virginia determined by Spectrum can be beneficial as lawmakers in Wyoming make a push to enact legislation that authorizes iGaming. Earlier this year, House Bill 120 was introduced as a measure that aims to authorize iGaming with regulation by the WGC. The bill calls for up to five interactive gaming permits with operators required to pay an initial $100,000 fee for a permit that is renewable every five years.
Spectrum, through its comparison of West Virginia to Wyoming, determined there is no real danger of cannibalization of retail casinos partly because the gaming facilities are not commercially run but rather operated by federally recognized tribes in the state. The study finds that iGaming revenue in Wyoming would not hurt the gross gaming revenue driven by historical horse racing or retail casinos. However, ordinary growth could be impacted.
Looking ahead in Wyoming
The WGC and Spectrum also provided research regarding the expansion of skill-based games and historical horse racing in Wyoming. Using three years of data, the study has identified certain expansion benchmarks for historical horse racing and skill-based games.
Overall, the study found that Wyoming’s current regulatory system is working effectively with proper oversight from the WGC. The study recommends increasing the minimum age for online sports wagering to 21 to be consistent with other gaming verticals in the state.
Wyoming’s gaming market will continue to drive revenue but the state can also prepare itself for potential expansion due to its operational efficiency that has room to grow.
