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Wyoming legalises sports betting

Wyoming has become the first US state to legalise sports betting in 2021.

The state of Wyoming has become the first US jurisdiction to legalise sports betting in 2021 after Governor Mark Gordon signed a new piece of legislation into law earlier this week.

This comes after the legislation was approved by the Senate at the end of March before being sent to the Governor for final approval.

What’s covered in the legislation?

Under the bill, HB 113, statewide mobile sports betting will become legal in the state of Wyoming.

Similar to the legislation approved in Tennessee, the law does not permit land-based betting which means that Wyoming will become the second US state to have a sports wagering market that is entirely online.

The new law will allow for legal wagering on professional, college, and Olympic sporting events and sets a tax rate of 10% on gross gaming revenue.

Under the law, a minimum of five licences must be issued and there is no maximum number of licenses. Wyoming operators will have to pay a $25,000 application fee and a $100,000 licenses fee, which will last for five years.

In addition to this, Wyoming is one of the few states to set the legal betting age at 18. Other states where 18-year-olds can bet on sports include Rhode Island, Montana, New Hampshire as well as Washington DC.

The legislation also requires the Wyoming Gaming Commission to promulgate rules for sports betting by 1 September 2021. This means that sports betting in Wyoming could launch at some point during the 2021 football season.

The time to have rules finalised is also one of the most aggressive timeframes of any US jurisdiction. Of the new states with legal betting, Virginia took roughly five months to finalise rules after legalising the activity.

What’s happening in the neighbouring states?

Wyoming’s neighbouring states have also begun to embrace legal and regulated sports betting.

The neighbouring state of Colorado has launched legal and regulated sports betting and the market permits online and land-based betting. Montana also offers legal betting via kiosks at thousands of lottery locations across the state.

Meanwhile, South Dakota legalised sports betting in November via referendum in November 2020 and last month the state’s governor signed the state’s sports betting bill into law.

In South Dakota, sports betting will be restricted to land-based betting which may only be offered in the city of Deadwood.

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