Rep. Tom Walters hopes HB 133 will bring sports betting to Wyoming by next football season.
“My colleagues are certainly hearing from their folks at home,” said Walters, who will introduce the bill in March. “This is something they want to see.”
The bill offers residents protections not available in illegal sports betting sites and money for the state from a 10 percent tax rate on net revenues.
Walters used Colorado as a template for Wyoming. Colorado accepted its first wager in May 2020, after the passage of a law in the fall of 2019. Colorado had to investigate companies to see if they were suitable for licensing, according to Wyoming News Now.
Colorado Director of the Division of Gaming Dan Hartman said his team had to drive to neighboring Wyoming to confirm geolocation software worked.
“It really shows that the framework we put in, all the other things we did, the safeguards made people feel, and to move there faster than I think we anticipated,” Hartman said.
The law also includes speed bumps to control bettors from going overboard.
“If you’re getting a little bit over extended, you’ve set your limit at $100 for a week or a month, and you start approaching that, those programs will stop you.”
