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A Wyoming legislative committee has snubbed a bill that would have legalized online casinos in the state. Interest in discussing the proposal was markedly absent during a committee meeting on Monday.
With this development, prospects continue to dim for any new US jurisdiction regulating iGaming in 2025. The debate over the issue in Wyoming could carry on to future years, however.
HB 162 meets unceremonious end
The Jan. 30 and Feb. 3 hearings of the Wyoming House of Representatives’ Travel, Recreation, Wildlife, and Cultural Resources Committee featured testimony on HB 162. HB 162 sought to legalize iGaming in Wyoming in the same fashion as the state regulated online sports wagering in 2021.
Over the two days, several speakers like operators of tribal casinos within Wyoming’s borders and representatives of organizations that advocate for responsible gambling addressed the committee. Tribal casino operators expressed concerns about loss of revenue due to online casinos being available.
After a motion was made to report the bill out of the committee favorably on Monday, none of the committee seconded that motion. When the hearing concluded, HB 162’s viability for 2025 effectively ended as well.
With that end, the wait for legal iGaming in Wyoming could extend years.
Wyoming’s legislative calendar’s effect on gambling legislation
This is the second consecutive year in which Wyoming’s legislature has seen a online slots and online table games. In 2024, HB 120 failed to get enough in the House for consideration in the short term.
In even-numbered years, the Wyoming legislature only meets for a few weeks to consider budget matters. Other items require a supermajority vote (⅔ in favor) for inclusion in the agenda.
That format could limit prospects for 2026 as well. The shortness of the session and high threshold for consideration might again leave gambling expansion on the backburner, making 2027 the next opportunity for online casino expansion proponents.
Legislators like Rep. Robert Davis, study commissioned by the state in 2024 suggests a significant gain in tax revenue for Wyoming from legal iGaming.
Davis or another member of the legislature might use that to gather for iGaming in the coming years although it was insufficient to sway minds in 2025. That has been the case across the country.
Wyoming latest state to shelve online casino regulation for now
Wyoming is the second US state to end consideration of expansion for iGaming in 2025. In January, Virginia Sen. Mamie Locke pushed for the postponement of consideration of her bill toward that end to 2026.
Much like Wyoming in even-numbered years, the Virginia Assembly has a short session in odd-numbered years. The postponement gives Locke time to prepare to push for expansion in the full session in 2026.
Proposals related to iGaming are still active in five other states for 2025. None of them have seen votes from full bodies in state legislatures yet.
Davis now potentially has the better part of two years to rally for online casinos in Wyoming. During that time, he could find more allies than foes.
