Wyoming Gambling Laws: What’s Legal, Penalties, and Age Limits

Gambling in Wyoming is legal only in the specific forms the legislature has authorized: pari-mutuel horse race betting, tribal casino gaming, mobile sports wagering, the state lottery, skill-based gaming terminals, charitable bingo and raffles, paid fantasy sports contests, and casual social games among friends. Wyoming gambling laws treat everything else as a crime, with players facing misdemeanor penalties and anyone running an unauthorized operation facing a felony.

What Gambling Is Legal in Wyoming

Pari-Mutuel Horse Racing and Historic Horse Racing Terminals

You can bet on live horse races at licensed tracks, on simulcast races broadcast from elsewhere, and on historic horse racing terminals. Historic horse racing machines let you wager on anonymized past races; the identifying details are stripped, so the player experience resembles a slot machine, but the outcome is tied to a real race result, which is why the law treats it as pari-mutuel wagering rather than casino gaming.¹ You must be 18 to place any pari-mutuel bet.²

Tribal Casinos

Full casino gaming in Wyoming happens only on tribal land, under the federal Indian Gaming Regulatory Act and the tribal-state compact rather than under the state’s criminal gambling statute.³ The Northern Arapaho Tribe operates the Wind River Hotel and Casino on the Wind River Reservation, with Class II games such as bingo and electronic bingo and Class III games including slot machines, blackjack, and poker. Tribal gaming is regulated by tribal gaming agencies and the National Indian Gaming Commission, not the state Gaming Commission, and Wyoming does not tax tribal gaming revenue. The minimum age is 18, and house rules can differ from what you would see at a commercial casino in another state, so it is worth checking before you go.

Online Sports Betting

Sports wagering has been legal since 2021, when Governor Mark Gordon signed House Bill 133 into law.⁴ The market is mobile-only. There are no retail sportsbook windows or kiosks anywhere in the state, and the only legal bets are those placed through an app operated by a company that holds a permit from the Wyoming Gaming Commission. As of 2025, six operators hold active permits: BetMGM, DraftKings, FanDuel, Fanatics, Barstool, and Caesars.⁵

You must be at least 18 and physically present in Wyoming to place a bet.⁶ The apps use geolocation to confirm your location before accepting a wager, so crossing a state line will cut you off mid-session.

The Wyoming Lottery

The Wyoming Lottery Corporation, created by House Bill 77 in 2013, runs the state lottery.⁷ Available games include the state-specific Cowboy Draw along with Powerball, Mega Millions, Lucky for Life, 2by2, and Keno. Tickets can only be sold to buyers who are at least 18, though an adult can legally give a ticket as a gift to someone of any age.⁸ Proceeds fund the Hathaway Scholarship program, Excellence in Higher Education, and quarterly distributions to counties and municipalities.⁹

Skill-Based Gaming Terminals

The electronic terminals you see in bars, restaurants, and truck stops across Wyoming are legal, but tightly regulated. Each establishment is limited to four authorized machines at any one time, and every terminal has to be connected to a centralized data system approved by the Gaming Commission. The commission monitors play, calculates net proceeds, and can remotely shut down any machine that falls out of compliance.¹⁰

Charitable Bingo, Raffles, and Pull-Tabs

Nonprofit organizations can run bingo games, raffles, and pull-tab games without a state gambling license, because those activities are carved out of the definition of illegal gambling when operated on a nonprofit basis.¹¹ Seventy-five percent of the net proceeds remaining after costs must be donated by the organization within one year. If a charitable game starts looking more like a commercial gambling operation, it loses the exemption and the organizers can face criminal charges.

Paid Fantasy Sports

House Bill 133 explicitly legalized paid fantasy sports contests alongside sports betting in 2021.⁴ Fantasy contests are classified as non-gambling activity under state law, provided they meet certain structural rules, including a prohibition on fielding a team made up entirely of players from a single real-world sports team.

Social Gambling

A casual poker night with friends is legal under Wyoming’s social gambling exception. A game or wager does not count as illegal gambling when it is incidental to a bona fide social relationship, only natural persons participate, and no one involved is engaged in professional gambling.¹¹ The statute does not define “bona fide social relationship” any further, so where the line sits depends on the circumstances. Charging admission, taking a rake, running regular games, or opening a game to strangers can turn a social game into professional gambling.

What Gambling Is Illegal in Wyoming

If a statute doesn’t specifically allow it, it isn’t legal. The most important prohibitions:

Commercial casinos. Non-tribal slot machines, roulette wheels, and house-banked table games are not allowed anywhere in the state.
Online casino gaming. Virtual slots, blackjack, roulette, and similar internet casino products are illegal. The only legal online gambling is sports betting through a permitted operator’s app.
Unlicensed sports betting. Placing bets through any platform without a Wyoming Gaming Commission permit is illegal, including offshore sites and apps licensed only in other states.
Unauthorized lotteries. Only the Wyoming Lottery Corporation can run lottery games. Private lotteries and numbers games are criminal.

The social gambling exception is narrow. As soon as someone is making money from organizing or facilitating a game rather than just playing in it, they have likely moved into professional gambling under Wyoming law.¹¹

Penalties for Illegal Gambling

Wyoming splits illegal gambling into two tiers, and the gap between them is large.¹²

Gambling is a misdemeanor punishable by up to six months in jail, a fine of up to $750, or both. This is the charge a casual participant in unauthorized gambling would face.
Professional gambling is a felony punishable by up to three years in prison, a fine of up to $3,000, or both. Professional gambling means accepting or offering to accept something of value in connection with gambling as a business. Running an illegal poker room, booking bets, or operating unauthorized gaming machines all sit on this side of the line.

Beyond the criminal charge, law enforcement can seize gambling equipment, records, and the proceeds of an illegal operation. Licensed operators who break Gaming Commission rules face additional civil penalties, including permit suspension or revocation.

Age Requirements

The minimum age for every legal form of gambling in Wyoming is 18. That covers pari-mutuel bets and historic horse racing terminals, online sports wagering, lottery ticket purchases, and tribal casino gaming.²⁶⁸ Operators and retailers must verify age with government-issued ID, and sports betting apps run identity checks during account registration. Allowing an underage person to gamble exposes the operator to penalties up to and including loss of the license.

Taxes on Gambling Winnings

Wyoming has no state income tax, so your winnings aren’t taxed at the state level, no matter the size. Federal rules still apply.

Starting in calendar year 2026, a payout triggers a Form W-2G when winnings reach $2,000, an inflation-adjusted threshold. Mandatory federal withholding at 24% kicks in when winnings exceed $5,000 and the payout is at least 300 times the wager, which covers lottery prizes, pari-mutuel payouts, sports bets, and sweepstakes. Bingo, keno, and slot machine winnings are exempt from the automatic withholding but remain taxable income you have to report on your federal return.¹³

Help If Gambling Becomes a Problem

The Wyoming Gaming Commission runs a voluntary self-exclusion program. If you apply, your name goes on a list shared with licensed sports wagering operators, who are then required to block you from their platforms.¹⁴ The program puts responsibility on you to stop gambling, but it creates a real barrier by forcing operators to turn you away.

The Wyoming Department of Health’s Behavioral Health Division coordinates problem gambling resources, including the National Problem Gambling Helpline at 1-800-MY-RESET (you can also text 800GAM or chat at ncpgambling.org), local mental health providers, and Gamblers Anonymous groups.¹⁵

1
Wyoming Legislature. Memorandum – Legal History of Simulcasting, OTB, and HHR
2
Justia Law. Wyoming Statutes Chapter 25 – Pari-Mutuel Wagering
3
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 25 USC Chapter 29 – Indian Gaming Regulation
4
Wyoming Gaming Commission. Online Sports Wagering
5
Wyoming Gaming Commission. Permit Holders
6
Justia Law. Wyoming Statutes 9-24-105 – Age to Engage in Online Sports Wagering
7
Wyoming Legislature. 2013 HB0077 – Wyoming Lottery
8
Justia Law. Wyoming Statutes 9-17-118 – Restrictions on Sale of Tickets or Shares; Price; Gifts and Promotions
9
Wyoming State Treasurer. Distributions
10
Wyoming Legislature. 2020 HB0171 – Wyoming Gaming Commission
11
Justia Law. Wyoming Statutes 6-7-101 – Definitions
12
Justia Law. Wyoming Statutes 6-7-102 – Gambling; Professional Gambling; Penalties
13
Internal Revenue Service. Instructions for Forms W-2G and 5754
14
Legal Information Institute. 038-8 Wyoming Code R 8-2 – Self-Exclusion Program
15
Wyoming Department of Health. Problem Gambling