Wyoming Gaming Commission Approves Two Sets of Sports Betting Rules

• Wyoming Approves Regular and Emergency Sports Betting Regulations Monday
• WY Second Uncapped Online U.S. Sportsbook, First Under-21 Market 
• WGC Wants Sports Betting Launch by NFL Season Opener in September

Wyoming Approves Regular and Emergency Sports Betting Regulations Monday

On Monday, the Wyoming Gaming Commission (WGC) approved two sets of sports betting regulations, both identical, with the second group being an emergency set that will kick in the moment Governor Mark Gordon gives them the A-okay and files them with the proper state agencies.

This is great news for Cowboy State bettors since this emergency set of rules should get the sports betting ball rolling a lot faster than the main set of regulations since those could take up to a few weeks to fully review and implement.

The governor is expected to quickly sign off on the emergency set of rules which will then be in effect for the next 120 days or until the governor, the Attorney General’s office, and the legislative branch all get a chance to complete the standard rulemaking process.

According to WGC Executive Director Charlie Moore, speed is going to be a priority all around.

We’re committed to getting those out the door as quickly as possible so that we don’t waste a lot of time.

WY Second Uncapped Online US Sportsbook, First Under-21 Market

Gov. Gordon signed the Wyoming sports betting legislation into law back on April 5, 2021, creating one of the more unique gambling markets in the nation for several reasons.

First, the state will only permit online sportsbook licenses with no retail operators in place, secondly, Wyoming is the second uncapped online sportsbook in the country allowing an unlimited number of operators to apply, and, thirdly, they will be one of the first states to allow bettors who are age 18 and up to register and place wagers.

Another distinctive feature of Wyoming’s sports betting law is that it allows the state to accept cryptocurrency payments as well as traveler’s checks, foreign currencies, and US bank accounts, credit cards and debit cards.

It will cost operators a 10% tax on gaming revenues, with the first $300,000 each year being allocated for gambling addiction treatment.

WGC Wants Sports Betting Launch by NFL Season Opener in September

Despite the state not having a pro football team in the NFL (many Wyomingites are diehard Denver Broncos fans), Wyoming is shooting to get online sports betting launched before the upcoming September start to the league’s regular season.

Like most states on the verge of launching their legal sports gambling operations, Wyoming realizes that the potential economic boon they are signing up for could help its citizens, many of whom are a part of the state’s struggling mining industry.

As Senator Jeff Wasserburger, a co-sponsor of the sports betting bill told the press earlier in the year:

[Legal online sports gambling] is not going to solve all the issues that we’re seeing in the mineral industry, that’s for sure. But it’s going to help a little bit.

And given its sparce citizenry (Wyoming is the least-populated state in the union), some industry experts still have doubts as to just how much financial “help” legal sports betting will be to the Equality State.