Committee orders bill drafts to raise online sports tax, add monitoring and slice more revenue from skill‑games and pari‑mutuel wagering

The Select Committee on Capital Financing & Investments reviewed historic and current gaming revenues and voted to request multiple bill drafts to change how Wyoming collects and monitors gambling proceeds. LSO fiscal staff, the gaming industry and county and health officials presented data and the committee took several drafting votes after public comment.

What staff presented: LSO analyst Karen von (Vaughn) walked the committee through the state’s four main gaming revenue streams — the state lottery, pari‑mutuel wagering (live racing and simulcast/historic horse racing), skill‑based amusement games (skill games), and online sports wagering. LSO explained the statutory distributions for each stream and how Wyoming’s approach compares to other states.

Key figures LSO cited: the lottery has produced small absolute dollars relative to larger states (LSO noted 2024 lottery gross play roughly $40 million, and that Wyoming’s local governments have received about 13 cents on the dollar when comparing total played to amounts returned to local governments in that program). Skill‑based amusement games are taxed by statute so that 20% of net proceeds fund local governments and the School Foundation Program (LSO said the SFP has received about $11.7 million from skill games since 2020). Online sports wagering — authorized in 2021 and taxed at 10% of…