By
Mike J. Davies
Editor in Chief at Casinos.US Updated: 10/08/2019
Mike is our Senior Editor and experienced gambling strategist. A former hockey player, he transitioned to the casino industry after finishing his B.A. in English. Blackjack systems, online casino guides, gambling terms, and more – Mike is familiar with all fine points of gambling.
Wyoming Opens Doors to Commercial Gambling Across County, Photo by pxhere
The county of Wyoming is in for new things this year. The Wyoming Pari-Mutuel Commission, the county’s official gaming board, is all set to give a warm welcome to commercial gambling across the county.
Currently, the Commission is running only one form of commercial gaming – horse racing. According to reports from industry insiders, the Commission plans to increase the scope of commercial gaming across the entire county to include other games and services.
This decision comes immediately after Wyoming Legislature’s Joint Committee on Travel, Recreation and Cultural Resources officially passed the bill that would grant the county permission to extend the Gaming Commission’s scope of operations.
The expansion of the Commission’s power is expected to reduce the rampant increase in illegal gambling in the county.
Currently, Wyoming is believed to have over 400 illegal and unregulated gambling service providers. Legislators believe that the county is missing out on over $4 million in gambling revenue due to a lack of formal controls. In a small county like Wyoming, which massively depends on a single economy (the now slowing down quarrying & mining industry), every dollar counts.
The setting up of official commercial gambling units is expected to regulate gambling services, while also bringing in much-needed revenues. According to the amendments proposed to the county’s gambling laws, these earnings would be fed back into the respective municipalities where they were earned; thereby helping boost the county-wide economy.
The amendments to the bill and the proposed changes to the gambling law are far from good news for some.
Certain Tribe-run casinos are against the sanctioning of commercial gambling in the county. The Northern Arapaho Tribe is an example. Unlike the Eastern Shoshone Tribe, the Northern Arapaho Tribe does not have a profit-sharing agreement with Wyoming County. Legalizing commercial gambling across the county could affect the Tribe’s earnings- lowering it significantly.
When questioned about the expected changes, Northern Arapaho Tribe’s council member Samuel Dresser had this to say:
From the beginning, they told us ‘absolutely no.’ Now Wyoming wants gambling. If the bill passes, it’s going to hurt us.
Jim Conrad, Chief Operating Officer of the Northern Arapaho Tribe, is also of the same belief. Seconding Dresser’s opinion, he stated: “It’ll kill the tribal casinos.”
So far, tribal casinos in Wyoming county have vehemently resisted state-proposed changes to the commercial gambling laws. They have had long-standing public support too. But as legislative pressure mounts, things have started to look bleak for them. Making things worse is the proposal to serve alcohol in state-run casinos post-2020. This is expected to further reduce the number of takers for tribal casinos.
While a majority of residents and gambling service providers are in support of the move, implementation will be far from easy.
Wyoming’s new gambling bill is expected to legalize only certain forms of commercial gambling. Municipalities that are satisfied with this new definition of commercial gambling may then choose to be covered by the law. Then, a public vote is taken, and only municipalities with the requisite vote in favor of the changes will come under the purview of the Wyoming Pari-Mutuel Commission.
But with tribes angry at the move, only time will tell how things shape up.
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