State Regulators Are Commissioning A Wyoming Sports Betting Study

State regulators are commissioning a new Wyoming sports betting study. The end result could be an expansion of online gambling in The Cowboy State. 

While sports betting in Wyoming has been legal since 2021, the idea of broadening horizons is proving to be a harder sell. As it stands, The Cowboy State has specific standards for online sportsbooks that want to enter the market. They also have yet to be all that keen on Wyoming online casino gaming.  

The latter is expected to be the focus on this latest survey. However, depending on the results, there is a chance officials look at reworking the criteria for sportsbooks to launch inside the market.

Spectrum Gaming Group is Running The Wyoming Sports Betting Survey

Wyoming first announced that Spectrum Gaming Group would run point on the study in the middle of 2024. Since then, they have confirmed more about the process. Here is Legal Sports Report’s Pat Evans with the full overview:

“Wyoming regulators and legislators are investigating the future of gambling in the state, which could include online casinos. The Wyoming Gaming Commission and state legislature announced this week they entered a contract with Spectrum Gaming Group for a feasibility study on the state’s gambling industry. Multiple industry sources have indicated Wyoming could be a prime candidate to legalize online casinos. Wyoming sports betting began in 2021 and has generated $2.9 million in taxes for the state. A Wyoming Gaming Commission release said the study could lead to legislation, including online gambling regulation, [by the end of] the 2025 general session.”

The timing behind Wyoming’s inquiry makes sense. Revenue from sports betting in the United States continues to be on the rise. Though The Cowboy State already offers it, both on-site and via betting sites, their profit margin is relatively modest when comparing it against the rest of the country. Tacking online casinos onto Wyoming sports betting sites stands to increase year over revenue. That uptick may even be dramatic. Casino gaming has more mass appeal, since not everyone is a sports fan. And in Wyoming’s case, the absence of in-market pro sports franchises represses interest, even if there are surrounding teams for which residents root.

Here is What the Wyoming Gambling Study will Entail

Evans also provides a breakdown of what the Wyoming sports betting study process will look like. Here are the most pertinent details:

“Wyoming’s 2024 general appropriations bill requires the WGC to conduct a ‘statewide study of gambling in Wyoming.’ That includes an overview of its historic horse racing, skill-based amusement games and online sports betting. Spectrum Gaming Group’s study will also ‘consider the number and growth of wagering locations and activity.’ It will also consider online casinos and potential regulatory structure and tax revenue for the industry.”

Basically, there will need to be a clear market demand for Wyoming online casinos for state lawmakers to move forward. Invariably, this means looking at the sports betting industry’s growth in The Cowboy State.

If identifying an interest in gambling is the primary catalyst for online casinos, then this initiative looks to be in good shape. Through three full calendar years of reporting, the Wyoming sports betting handle has materially increased on an annual basis.

In 2022, the state’s handle checked in at $144.5 million. This number increased to $172.3 million in 2023. That is the rough equivalent of a 19.2 percent rise in total wagers. 

These figures climbed again in the most recent fiscal year. In 2024, Wyoming sports betting took in $209.6 million worth of total wagers. That comes out to a 21.6 percent jump in betting volume. Given the size of these increases, our guess is that market demand for Wyoming online casinos will not be an issue. 

Will the Legalization of Sports Betting in the United States Start a Larger Push for Online Casinos?

The relationship between the rise in popularity for online sports betting apps in the United States and the future of legal online casinos in the United States is seldom talked about together. And yet, it should be. Just as Wyoming sports betting may be a gateway to online casino legalization, the relationship will be similar throughout the rest of the country.

Consider the states that already have online casinos available: Connecticut, Delaware, Michigan, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island and West Virginia. Each of them also offers legal online sports betting. That is not a coincidence. 

Now, whether this speaks to a larger trend remains to be seen. For the most part, states have focused on the future (or lack thereof) or sports betting in their markets. But 39 states as well as the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico will offer legal sports betting once Missouri launches their operations later this year. Legal sports wagering is now the country standard. And while the industry remains new, focus will inevitably shift to other options once states settle into their regulatory grooves.

To that end, Wyoming may be a perfect case study. The potential for precedent is twofold. For starters, Wyoming sports betting launched almost four years ago. That provides a rough blueprint for how long it might take states to think about expansion. 

And on top of that, unlike most of the other states with online casinos, The Cowboy State is historically conservative. If a right-leaning territory jumps into the online casino business, it will open the floodgates for more to do the same.

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