New igaming bill introduced in Wyoming
House Bill 162 introduces measures to legalise and regulate online betting.
US.- Several Wyoming legislators are pushing House Bill 162 which aims to legalise and regulate interactive gaming under the oversight of the Wyoming Gaming Commission. The piece of legislation was introduced by Robert Davis and is co-sponsored by Rep. Landon Brown and J.T. Larson.
The bill allows online gaming on tribal lands through a state gaming agreement as Wyoming only has Native American casinos and no commercial ones.
Operators interested in securing an iGaming licence would be subject to a $100,000 fee. Each licence will be awarded for a period of five years and after the expiry of that period, the iGaming operator will pay a $50,000 renewal fee. Vendors face fees of $10,000 for initial licensing and $5,000 for renewals.
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According to the bill, operators are required to pay a tax rate of 16 per cent of monthly gaming revenue. The first $300,000 collected annually will fund county health programs to address problem gambling, with remaining funds allocated to counties (40 per cent ), schools (50 per cent ) and state programs (10 per cent ).
The bill had been filed previously but was put on hold while Spectrum assessed the potential market. The study forecast $20m to 30m in tax revenue for the first year and up to $40m by year five. That would add to tax revenue from the existing sports betting market.
The study suggested that the move would have little impact on the state’s retail casinos. However, the tribes that run the casinos have expressed doubts, requesting a more detailed explanation. The tribes remain the most significant opposition to legalising the sector.
