Is sports betting legal in Wyoming?
Yes. Gov. Mark Gordon signed House Enrolled Act No. 50 (HB 133) on April 5, 2021, and online sports betting started on September 1, 2021. You must be 18. The state licenses online sportsbooks only, and the one in-person counter is the Northern Arapaho Tribe's Buffalo Sportsbook near Riverton, which runs under Class III gaming procedures the Interior Department issued in 2005.
Where you can bet
The Wyoming Gaming Commission lists six operator permit holders: BetMGM, Caesars Sportsbook, DraftKings, Fanatics Sportsbook, FanDuel and Barstool Sportsbook. Its 2025 annual report says Barstool is licensed but not active. The other five took $234.5 million in bets in 2025 (DraftKings $122.8 million, FanDuel $49.9 million, BetMGM $40.5 million, Fanatics $12.8 million, Caesars $8.4 million) and kept $27.2 million in gross gaming revenue.
Operators pay 10% of online sports wagering revenue each month. The first $300,000 each fiscal year goes to the Department of Health for county problem gambling programs, and the rest goes to the general fund. The statute says online sports wagering can't be conducted from a physical location an operator or vendor sets up, so there are no commercial retail sportsbooks.
The law counts collegiate events as sporting events and bans wagers on any event where most of the athletes are under 18. We found no rule against college player props. On November 22, 2024, the Commission voted to put anyone found guilty of harassing athletes on its involuntary exclusion list.
The Northern Arapaho Tribe opened Buffalo Sportsbook inside Wind River Hotel & Casino with a ribbon-cutting on September 9, 2021, before that night's NFL opener.
How Wyoming legalized sports betting
Gambling law before 2021
W.S. 6-7-101 defines gambling as risking property on chance or on "the happening or outcome of an event, including a sporting event," over which the bettor has no control, and then lists exceptions. Gambling is a misdemeanor (up to six months and $750). Professional gambling is a felony carrying up to three years and $3,000.
The Wyoming Pari-Mutuel Board dates to 1967, and HB 10 (1987) authorized simulcasting and off-track betting with county approval. In 2003 the commission approved "instant racing" terminals by rule, and the courts struck them down in 2005 and 2006. HB 25 (2013) then authorized historic horse racing (HHR) by statute. By April 2025 there were 41 off-track betting sites with 3,034 active HHR terminals. In 2020, HB 171 (signed March 17, 2020) renamed the agency the Wyoming Gaming Commission and put skill based amusement games under its licensing.
Wyoming never signed a Class III compact with the Northern Arapaho Tribe, and after the IGRA litigation described below, the Interior Department issued Secretarial procedures on September 21, 2005. They authorize pari-mutuel wagering not barred by the federal sports betting ban then in force (28 U.S.C. 3702) and any other Class III gaming the state permits.
HB 133 (2021)
Rep. Walters and seven co-sponsors introduced HB 133 on March 1, 2021. The House defeated it 28 to 32 on third reading on March 9, then reconsidered and passed it 32 to 28 the next day. The Senate passed it 24 to 5 on March 29, the House concurred 36 to 20 on March 30, and Gordon signed it on April 5 as Chapter 100. Along the way the House dropped a committee amendment that would have reserved one permit each for the Northern Arapaho and Eastern Shoshone tribes, and adopted Walters's amendment barring betting locations.
The act created W.S. 9-24-101 through 9-24-106. Operators must already take online bets in at least three U.S. jurisdictions, pay $100,000 for a five-year permit ($50,000 to renew), and the Commission must issue at least five permits if enough qualified applicants apply. Applications cost $2,500 and vendor permits $10,000. Unlicensed operators face civil penalties of $25,000 for a first offense and $50,000 after that, on top of the criminal gambling statute. The act also took fantasy sports contests out of the definition of gambling.
Launch and later amendments
The Commission approved BetMGM and DraftKings on September 1, 2021, and both went live that day. FanDuel's permit took effect November 19, 2021, though it didn't take bets that year. Caesars, PointsBet and Barstool were approved in 2022, and by the end of that year only Caesars of the three was operating. In 2023 Fanatics and Barstool held permits without operating.
HB 181, signed February 21, 2023, required licenses for executives who control Wyoming operations and for employees who can deploy code that changes wagers ($250, five years), and extended the review period to 90 days. It also limited the promotional deduction to the actual dollar value of free bets and allowed a losing month to be carried forward only into the next month.
Online casino bills failed twice: HB 120 lost its introduction vote 25 to 36 on February 15, 2024, and HB 162 died in committee on March 3, 2025. The 2024 budget ordered a statewide gaming study, which Spectrum Gaming Group carried out. The 2026 budget session produced four gaming laws, all signed March 6 and 7, 2026: SF 44 narrowed the social gambling exception and defined "bona fide social relationship"; SF 45 required city, town or county approval for simulcast and HHR permits and let local authorities revoke it for good cause; SF 46 limited skill games at liquor licensees to on-premises licenses and to areas closed to anyone under 21; and HB 43 created state money laundering offenses. SF 44 and SF 45 took effect July 1, 2026. HB 172, which would have capped HHR terminals, wasn't considered for introduction.
Sports betting court cases in Wyoming
We found no court case challenging HB 133 or any sports betting permit.
Northern Arapaho Tribe v. Wyoming (10th Cir. Nos. 02-8026, 02-8031)
The tribe sued under the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act, claiming the state wouldn't negotiate in good faith. The district court ordered a compact on calcutta and pari-mutuel wagering but held casino games against state policy. A 2004 Tenth Circuit panel (389 F.3d 1308) held that Wyoming had to negotiate the full range of casino-style Class III games, because W.S. 6-7-101 exempts gambling within a bona fide social relationship. The court granted rehearing en banc, then on July 8, 2005 vacated that order as improvidently granted. It left the panel ruling as law of the case but nonprecedential, since Wyoming had conceded the social gambling point. The Secretarial procedures followed that September.
Wyoming Downs Rodeo Events v. State (2006 WY 55)
After Cheyenne police ordered instant racing terminals removed, Wyoming Downs sought a declaratory judgment. Laramie County District Court (No. 164-213) ruled for the state on July 7, 2005, and the Wyoming Supreme Court affirmed on May 4, 2006 (No. 05-201), holding that the Pari-Mutuel Commission lacked authority to approve the terminals and that they were illegal gambling devices.
County power over off-track betting
In Wyoming Downs v. Sweetwater County (No. C-14-101-J, August 21, 2014), the district court reversed a county's denial of an off-track betting site as arbitrary and protectionist. In Campbell County Board of Commissioners v. Wyoming Horse Racing, LLC (2023 WY 10, No. S-22-0114, January 31, 2023), the Wyoming Supreme Court held that a county can't revoke its approval once the Commission has issued permits. SF 45 (2026) now gives local authorities express power to revoke for good cause.
Skill games and the gambling statute
In a formal opinion released in December 2018, Attorney General Peter K. Michael concluded that Banilla's "Wyoming Skill Games" terminals were illegal gambling devices. The Legislature then licensed skill games through the Commission in 2020. In State v. Schroefel in Natrona County District Court, a Casper coffee shop owner facing a felony gambling charge argued in February 2025 that the gambling statute was unconstitutionally vague. He pleaded guilty on April 9, 2025 under a deferral agreement before Judge Catherine Wilking ruled, so the challenge was never decided.
Prediction markets and the Tenth Circuit
We found no Wyoming lawsuit, cease-and-desist letter or Commission order against Kalshi, Polymarket, Crypto.com, Robinhood, Underdog or Novig, and no operator suit against Wyoming. Attorney General Keith G. Kautz signed the March 10, 2026 brief of Ohio, New Jersey and 37 other states backing Nevada in the Ninth Circuit. Wyoming isn't among the signers of the April 30, 2026 attorneys general comment letter asking the CFTC to recognize state authority over sports event contracts.
Wyoming is in the Tenth Circuit. In KalshiEX LLC v. Cox (D. Utah No. 2:26-cv-00151), Judge Robert J. Shelby granted Utah summary judgment on August 4, 2026, holding that the Commodity Exchange Act doesn't preempt Utah's gambling laws as applied to Kalshi. Kalshi appealed (No. 26-4100), and on September 8, 2026 Judges Hartz and Kelly denied an injunction pending appeal. Kalshi's opening brief was due September 21, 2026, and we couldn't confirm the appeal's progress after that. We found no merits ruling, so as far as we could tell no appellate preemption holding binds Wyoming.
Other circuits (persuasive only)
The Third Circuit ruled for Kalshi against New Jersey on April 6, 2026 (KalshiEX v. Flaherty, No. 25-1922), and New Jersey's certiorari petition is pending (No. 26-299), with Kalshi's response due November 9, 2026. The Ninth Circuit ruled against Kalshi in Nevada on August 28, 2026 (KalshiEX v. Assad, No. 25-7516). On September 25, 2026 the Sixth Circuit held in KalshiEX v. Schuler (Nos. 26-3196, 26-5235) that Kalshi's sports contracts aren't swaps and that the CEA doesn't preempt Ohio's or Tennessee's gambling laws.
Prediction markets and daily fantasy
Wyoming has no statute aimed at event contracts, and the Commission hasn't acted against them. The gambling definition reaches bets on "the outcome of an event, including a sporting event," and exempts "bona fide business transactions which are valid under the law of contracts"; we found no Wyoming court that has applied either clause to event contracts. Novig, the trade name of Ludlow Exchange, LLC, which the CFTC designated a contract market on June 16, 2026, takes traders in Wyoming because its eligibility page excludes only Nevada, Arizona and Michigan, though it requires users to be 21 with ID, three years above the sportsbook minimum.
HB 133 made paid fantasy sports contests legal by removing them from the definition of gambling. Among the conditions, prizes must be announced in advance, results must turn on the combined statistics of several real athletes, and no fantasy team can be drawn entirely from one real team. The act doesn't set up a license for fantasy operators.
Help with a gambling problem
Wyoming Council on Problem Gambling: 307-278-0766. Wyoming Department of Health: 1-866-571-0944. National Problem Gambling Helpline: 1-800-522-4700. The Commission runs a self-exclusion program, and in December 2025 it joined the idPair National Voluntary Self-Exclusion Program.
Sources
HB 133 (2021) bill digest, votes and amendments, Wyoming Legislature
Wyoming Statutes Title 6 (W.S. 6-7-101 to 6-7-104, gambling)
HB 181 (2023), online sports wagering amendments, enrolled text
SF 45 (2026), local approval for simulcasting, enrolled text
SF 46 (2026), skill games at licensed liquor establishments, enrolled text
HB 172 (2026), limits on historic horse racing terminals, bill digest
Legislative Service Office memo, Legal History of Simulcasting, OTB, and HHR (July 28, 2025)
Wyoming Gaming Commission presentation to the Select Committee on Gaming (June 2025)
Wyoming Gaming Commission, online sports wagering permit holders
Wyoming Gaming Commission annual reports (2021, 2022, 2023, 2025)
Interior Department, Northern Arapaho Class III Secretarial procedures (September 21, 2005)
Campbell County Board of Commissioners v. Wyoming Horse Racing, LLC, 2023 WY 10
Wyoming AG: skill games illegal (Oil City News, December 11, 2018)
Schroefel guilty plea ends vagueness challenge (Cowboy State Daily, April 9, 2025)
KalshiEX LLC v. Cox, D. Utah No. 2:26-cv-00151, decision (August 4, 2026)
Attorneys general comment letter to the CFTC (Colorado AG release, April 30, 2026)
KalshiEX LLC v. Flaherty, Third Circuit No. 25-1922 (April 6, 2026)
KalshiEX, LLC v. Assad, Ninth Circuit No. 25-7516 (August 28, 2026)
KalshiEX LLC v. Schuler, Sixth Circuit Nos. 26-3196 and 26-5235 (September 25, 2026)