Is sports betting legal in Wyoming?

What the law allows

Wyoming went straight to phones. The governor signed House Bill 133, House Enrolled Act No. 50, on 5 April 2021, and the Wyoming Gaming Commission says it legalized online sports wagering, which had been illegal until then. The law sits in Title 9, chapter 24 of the Wyoming statutes, and it's written for online betting: the statute defines sports wagering as the business of taking bets through online sports wagering. The Commission's pages don't give a date for the first bet, so I won't guess one.

The Commission regulates the books and the vendors behind them, and only a gaming company already running online betting in at least three US jurisdictions qualifies for a permit. The Commission keeps the list of permit holders; I'd check it before opening an account, because a book that isn't on it isn't a Wyoming book.

The age is 18. Section 9-24-105 says no one under 18 may bet online on sports. Plenty of 18-year-olds will read that as a green light; I'd read it as the age the law allows, not a reason to start.

What it means for a bettor in Wyoming

The statute tells the Commission to require that you be physically in Wyoming when you bet, and that every book use a geolocation system to check. The app will look at where your phone is before it takes the wager, so a drive into Colorado or Montana puts you under that state's rules.

The board is wide. The statute covers pro, college, Olympic, amateur and esports events, and the bets include parlays, teasers, in-game and props. What it rules out is any event where most of the athletes are under 18, plus anything the Commission hasn't authorized. The Commission publishes the catalog of approved events, so that is the place to look if a game is missing from your app.

Winnings count as income; the IRS taxes them in full.

Where the offshore books fit

An offshore sportsbook holds no Wyoming permit. The statute sets civil penalties of $25,000 for a first offense, and $50,000 after that, for anyone taking bets in the state without one, and it tells the Commission to watch for people doing it. A permitted book answers to the Commission. A book overseas answers to nobody in Cheyenne, and I'd keep that in mind before I sent it a dollar. Our offshore sportsbooks section explains how those books operate, and the VPN question covers what happens when people hide where they are.

If betting is a problem, the Commission's responsible gaming page lists the Wyoming Council on Problem Gambling at 307-278-0766 and the national helpline at 1-800-522-4700; our responsible gambling page has more.

*Checked against the Wyoming Gaming Commission and Wyoming statutes, Title 9 on 28 October 2026. Laws change; this page is re-checked every quarter. This is not legal advice.*