Members of the travel, recreation, wildlife and cultural resources committee on Monday (3 February) sat in silence for several moments after representative Cathy Connelly made a motion for the committee to work the bill. When no second came, committee chair Andrew Byron said “hearing no second, the bill is postponed indefinitely”.
HB 162, which would allow for statewide legal igaming, isn’t quite dead. The Wyoming legislative session ends on 6 March, but the crossover deadline – the date a bill can move from one chamber to the next – is 12 February.
The failure to get a second on the motion to work the bill likely means the committee did not have the votes to pass it. Should that change, lawmakers could bring it back, but have only nine days to discuss, debate, amend and vote on the bill.
Tribes not enthusiastic
The hearing for HB 162 started 30 January, but the committee ran short on time and couldn’t complete it. At that time, representatives from the Northern Arapahoe and Shoshone tribes testified in opposition.
Both said that other expansions of gaming, among them legal sports betting and historical horse racing, have already cut into their revenue. Online gambling, they said, would continue that trend, putting the livelihoods of many tribal members in peril. The decrease in revenue also means the tribes cannot offer as many services to its members as they had previously.
Problem and responsible gambling advocates also testified in opposition while the Sports Betting Alliance (SBA) and others testified in favour. But clearly, the committee was not moved by that testimony.
The SBA is a trade association comprised of BetMGM, DraftKings, Fanatics Betting & Gaming and FanDuel.
“By transitioning from an unregulated, untaxed igaming environment to a structured and lawful one, the state can harness substantial economic benefits while safeguarding its residents,” said Sarah Filosa on behalf of the SBA.
How to shut down the black market
Filosa pointed to several sweepstakes sites, including Chumba and Stake, which operate through a loophole across the US. The sites offer free-to-play games, but consumers can then graduate to purchasing “coins” or “tokens”. At that point, the industry argues, the sweepstakes platforms become real-money gambling websites that are not held up to the same standards as the regulated market.
Among the questions that came up during the hearing was this one: How would legalising online gambling tamp down the illegal market? The answer was that a legal framework gives the state the tools to get illegal operators out of Wyoming. But lawmakers questioned why the state can’t do that without legalisation.
“It gives your gaming commission and law enforcement a law to point to to say, ‘Hey, we have a law on the books that says online gambling ONLY if you are legal and licensed and regulated in the state’,” said John Pappas on behalf of the iDevelopment Economic Association. “‘And if you are not, you are operating illegally.’ Right now, these operators exploit the lack of clarity in the law, and say, ‘Oh, we’re just going to operate here without a licence because we’re offshore.’”
Pappas went on to explain that other US jurisdictions, particularly Michigan, have had success sending cease-and-desist letters to illegal operators. Michigan has legal igaming and digital sports betting.
At least eight states considering legalisation
Wyoming is one of three US states that only allows digital sports betting, but does not have retail sportsbooks. HB 162 would legalise digital icasino only. The state would still not have in-person casinos.
Online casino has proved to be a tough sell for the gambling industry. Wyoming is among at least eight US jursidictions that entered the legislative season with legal igaming bills.
Virginia lawmakers have already killed a bill there. Legislators from New Hampshire to Maryland to Indiana continue to consider the idea.
Original article: https://igamingbusiness.com/gaming/online-casino/wyoming-committee-igaming-stalled/
