The Wyoming Senate’s Committee on Travel, Recreation, Wildlife & Cultural Resources January 19 unanimously advanced a bill to the floor that would permanently allow games of skill at bars, restaurants and other venues. It would place them under the umbrella of the newly created Wyoming Gaming Commission.
About a year ago the legislature allowed “games of skill,” but left them unregulated. Most venues that have them use them as supplemental entertainment, rather than becoming actual casinos, as the state’s tribal casinos do.
Representatives of the industry say they are a vital source of revenue to businesses hit hard by the Covid-19 pandemic. These merchants are seeing less foot traffic. The machines also pay 20 percent in taxes.
Bill SF-56 answers criticism that last year’s law left loopholes and was unclear about what the commission actually has jurisdiction over. For instance, it doesn’t specify who is responsible for an illegal machine, the operator or manufacturer.
Lawmakers are trying to address that, with one senator arguing for giving the commission the ability to grant licenses to manufactures, and revoke them if their machines are misused. His solution was left out of the bill that the committee passed, however.
At the same time the commission is working on formal rulemaking that it should bring forward later in 2021.
