A draft of Wyoming sports betting rules advanced to public comment on Tuesday.
The Wyoming Gaming Commission rolled through its fifth draft of sports betting rules with relatively little discussion and approved the rules for submission to Gov. Mark Gordon. The draft then enters a 45-day public comment period before the commission addresses any other rule changes for sports betting in Wyoming.
“We appreciate the hard work everyone has put into this. We still are on track for the September 1 deadline,” Wyoming Gaming Commission Executive Director Charles Moore said.
Moore was noncommittal to a question of when licensing applications would be accepted. Once the state launches, it will join Tennessee as the other mobile-only jurisdiction in US sports betting.
Smooth rule-making process in Wyoming
Moore said the rules came from looking at a variety of other legal markets, including Colorado, Tennessee, Michigan and Iowa.
Several major sportsbook operators also were involved throughout the process, including BetMGM, DraftKings and FanDuel. Other operators like Superbook, Golden Entertainment and Cowboy Skill Games took part in stakeholder meetings.
The original framework and sportsbook involvement has kept meetings light, and changes largely centered on language alterations and small technical clarifications.
Staying on track in Wyoming
The passage of sports betting legislation in Wyoming this year was a bit of a surprise. Representatives initially voted down HB 133, before they reconsidered it and passed it, 32-4, a day later on March 10. The Senate then passed it, 24-5, on March 29.
Gov. Mark Gordon signed the legislation into law April 5.
Moore agreed to the expedited timeline to finish rules by Sept. 1 during the legislative process. Now, the gaming commission is staying on track to draft the rules in a timely manner. When operators can apply for licenses and actually launch remains up in the air.
All online sports betting in Wyoming
The commission “shall not issue less than five sports wagering operator permits.”
Those operators will pay $100,000 for an initial five-year permit and a $50,000 renewal fee. The state will levy a 10% tax on sports betting revenue.
With a population of fewer than 600,000, Wyoming is the smallest state in the country. Still, early gaming commission estimates suggested the state could produce nearly $450 million in annual wagers.
