Wyoming is adding to the growing list of states considering a gambling-related tax hike.
The state’s Committee on Capital Financing and Investments has lawmakers drafting new legislation aimed at increasing revenue and oversight of gaming in the Cowboy State.
The committee is asembling staff draft measures that impact revenue generated by multiple gaming verticals, including sports wagering, skill-based amusement games and horse racing. Lawmakers are also drafting a bill to create a monitoring system for gaming activity.
“As the industry has grown exponentially in recent years, Wyoming needs to establish enhanced oversight and revenues to match the growing needs from impacts in our communities,” Committee Chair Tara Nethercott told Cowboy State Daily.
Lawmakers are attempting to drive more revenue for infrastructure projects by increasing Wyoming’s tax rate on skill-based games from 20% to 25%. Committee members will be constructing a bill that allocates a portion of the tax revenue toward highways.
In 2024, Wyoming’s gaming vendors generated $31.1 million in net revenue from skill games, according to the Wyoming Gaming Commission. That year, state and local governments in Wyoming generated $6.2 million in tax revenue from skill-based games.
The revenue was earmarked for education, the commission, counties and towns.
Wyoming’s Committee on Capital Financing and Investments is also instructed to draft a piece of legislation to increase the tax rate on pari-mutuel and historic horse racing events.
Lawmakers are drafting a bill to raise the tax rate on horse racing from 1.5% to 2.5%. The proposed tax hike does not include the 0.4% that is reserved for the Breeders Award.
Wyoming’s retail gaming activity
A bill creating a central monitoring system for retail gaming is also in the works.
The system, operated by a third-party entity, will be implemented into gaming machines across the state and will monitor gaming activity at bars, truck stops and gaming halls.
Potential sports betting tax increase
Committee members are drafting a piece of legislation that will increase Wyoming’s tax rate on sports wagering revenue from 10% to 20%. Wyoming, which launched sports betting in 2021, was the second U.S. market after Tennessee to offer an online-only model.
It is home to five operators that generate over $1 billion in gross gaming revenue annually.
Wyoming joins Ohio, Louisiana and New Jersey as states considering tax increases.
Ohio Sen. Louis Blessing filed Senate Bill 199 which would add a 2% tax on total wager dollar amounts to the state’s existing 20% tax rate on adjusted gross revenue. If signed, the bill would make Ohio the first state to tax both betting handle and revenue. It would also be the second tax increase since sports betting launched in 2024.
New Jersey is considering raising the state’s tax rate on sports betting and online casinos to 25% through Gov. Phil Murphy’s Summary of Budget Recommendations for FY2026.
The Garden State currently levies a 13% tax rate on sports wagering with iGaming at 15%.
Last week, the Louisiana Senate passed a piece of legislation that increases the sports wagering tax rate from 15% to 21.5%, matching the state’s rate for retail casino gaming.
The bill, which was approved in the House last month, allocates 25% of revenue from sports wagering toward the Supporting Programs, Opportunities, Resources and Teams Fund (SPORT Fund). The fund supports college athletic programs across the state.
The measure, House Bill 639, awaits Gov. Jeff Landry’s signature for enactment.
Approved tax rate changes in the US
Maryland and Illinois implemented tax rate hikes after their initial launch of sports wagering.
Last month, Maryland Gov. Wes Moore signed into law the Budget Reconciliation and Financing Act of 2025 raising the state’s tax on sports wagering from 15% to 20%.
Illinois changed its sports betting tax rules in 2024 with a budget plan that taxes operators on a sliding scale based on adjusted gross revenue. The plan has sports betting operators that generate more than $200 million in annual revenue taxed at a 40% rate. Operators that don’t meet that threshold are taxed at a 20% rate, up from an original 15% rate.
Illinois is making more changes as the state will be charging operators at least 25 cents per wager after its legislature voted to implement the new wagering tax rule last month.
FanDuel and DraftKings responded to the per-wager tax with 50-cent transaction fees.
