Ten months after the launch of Wyoming’s sports betting market, the Wyoming Gaming Commission (WGC) admits that it’s not a barn-burner. However, it is showing steady growth.
Overseeing the introduction of mobile-only sports betting for the WGC is David Carpenter. He was put in charge of the rollout in April 2021, shortly after Governor Mark Gordon signed the bill legalizing it. The Cowboy State is one of the rare states to only offer mobile sports betting, since it has no casinos.
So far, FanDuel, DraftKings, BetMGM and Caesars Sportsbook offer sports wagering, with Caesars being the most recent. The market opened with 10,000 to 15,000 unique users in the first few weeks, which approached 30,000 for the NFL season and has hovered around that number for five months. NFL is the most popular sports betting sport, with basketball and hockey less so, said Carpenter.
“I think we’re right in line with our numbers compared to other states, we’re just on a different level because of our population,” Carpenter told CDC Gaming Reports. “I think it’ll continue to grow for quite a while and I think that the excitement will keep building.”
Wyoming, is, of course, the state with the lowest population, with fewer than 600,000 residents. Carpenter’s goal is for 10 percent of the population to have accounts.
Carpenter concluded, “Our goal at the end of the day is to get the illegal offshore operators out of the state and to bring in these regulated markets to make money off of.”
The state collects 10 percent of sports betting revenue, with the first $300,000 earmarked for programs to treat gambling addiction. So far the state hasn’t breached that benchmark. Carpenter says it is a realistic goal for the state to reach $1 million in revenue for the first calendar year.
