Wyoming Lawmakers Eye iGaming Legalization Opportunities

Wyoming lawmakers are considering the possibility of expanding the local gaming market, potentially even launching regulated online casino gaming. To that end, experts will conduct a study on the state of the local industry and determine whether iGaming would benefit the local market.

Wyoming Considers Online Casinos

As Wyoming considers the future, the Wyoming Gaming Commission and local lawmakers have decided to commission the Spectrum Gaming Group, a non-partisan consultancy that specializes in the economics, regulation and policy of legalized gambling, to conduct a study.

The group will evaluate how people in the state have interacted with the industry so far and determine the feasibility of an iGaming launch.

Wyoming legislators legalized sports betting in 2021 – a vertical that has so far generated almost $3 million in state taxes. Online gambling could potentially generate additional tax revenue that could be used to support various initiatives in the state.

Spectrum Gaming Will Evaluate the Local Market

Spectrum Gaming Group will be tasked with determining the potential boons of iGaming and whether the vertical would provide a sufficient tax boost.

As part of the study, Spectrum Gaming Group will also consider the number of betting locations throughout the state and will evaluate the overall gaming activity. For that reason, the group will probe into various verticals, such as online sports betting, skill-based games and historic horse racing.

The research will focus on the local industry’s performance in September and October. According to the Wyoming Gaming Commission, the first draft of the report should be ready in November.

Legalization Might Be an Uphill Battle

In any case, legalizing iGaming might turn out to be an uphill battle. While a number of US states have expressed interest in allowing online casino games, most have failed to achieve any meaningful legislative progress.

Some of the states that are still eyeing online casino opportunities include Maryland and Ohio. In the meantime, the states where iGaming is legal include Connecticut, Delaware, Michigan, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island and West Virginia.

In other news, a recent study highlighted the vast disparities between state sports betting taxation policies in the USA.