Guide to Wyoming Gambling Age: Casinos, Sports Betting & More

Wyoming’s gambling laws have been described as tight and inflexible and shows absolutely no signs of relaxing anytime soon. Currently, there are no forms of online gaming available within the state and there are only a limited number of tribal land-based casinos and operation. Continuing on the conservative side of things when it comes to laws, sports betting is also considered illegal in Wyoming, however, there is a slight respite and that daily fantasy sports is tolerated for now.

As Wyoming has such a small state population there isn’t enough pressure from the state residents, nor enough benefits for the state to reap from taxation applied to gambling for it to be worth the state to legislate for further relaxing of the state’s laws. Below you’ll find the Wyoming gambling age as well as in-depth looks into the various gaming types.

In the table above you will find the legal gambling age for each form of legalized wager placing activities in Wyoming. if there is not an age listed in the table in that form of gambling is most likely considered illegal in Wyoming.

On this page, we will give you a good insight into Wyoming’s laws specifically focusing on the legal gambling age’s associated with each form of wagering. we will also do a deep dive into the history of gambling in Wyoming, while also offering up any insight we have into any future law changes that could be on the horizon.

Casino Age in Wyoming

Wyoming has no commercial casino industry, it does, however, have a tribal casino industry. there are four tribal casinos in operation in Wyoming run by two local tribes, the Northern Arapaho Tribe and the Eastern Shoshone Tribe of the Wind River Reservation. The legal gambling age at one of these four tribal casinos is set to 21 in Wyoming.

After The Indian Gaming Regulatory Act came into force federally in the US in 1988 many states across the US opened up the commercial casino gambling industry to local tribes and allowed them to operate casinos on tribal lands under compacts signed between the state and tribe. Wyoming was one of these states that adopted this process.

Under the compacts signed between Wyoming’s two casino operating tribes the tribes are able to operate Class III games within their casinos. Class III games include all forms of traditional casino gambling including traditional table games such as Blackjack, Roulette, Poker etc. Tribes are also able to offer further games such as pull-tabs, raffles, wagering on contests of skill, strength or endurance, pari-mutuel wagering and ‘any game wager or transaction’ as recognised by the state’s court of appeal – compared to many other tribal casinos operating across the US, Wyoming tribes have a very wide remit in terms of the types of games they can offer.

The legal gambling age for entering a casino in Wyoming is most likely set 21 as this is also the legal drinking age across the US. By having the legal age for entering casino be the same as the legal drinking age Wyoming casinos are able to mitigate any issues they may have in serving underage minors if the legal casino age was lower.

As mentioned in the introduction, while there may be interest from commercial casinos who would want to set up shop within Wyoming, there is little to no interest at a state legislature level for the casino industry to expand as the state does not have the population to support it and therefore any tax benefits for the state would be negligible.

What are The Casinos In Wyoming that accept 18 year Olds?

There are no casinos in Wyoming that accept 18-year-olds . All casinos operating in the state have a legal Wyoming gambling age of 21. for those over the age of 21 who wish to gamble at one of the state’s tribal casinos we have brought together the addresses of the four tribal casinos in the table below

Sports Betting In Wyoming

Unfortunately for Wyoming sports fans, all sports betting is considered illegal in Wyoming. there are absolutely no online platforms allowing for sports betting and there are zero physical sportsbooks. as there is no sports betting in Wyoming there is no legal gambling age associated with it.

The lack of sports betting in Wyoming is reflective of thestate’s conservative values and views on gambling. Many hoped that after the Supreme Court repealed the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act of 1992 in 2018 most states across the US would leap at the chance to legalize sports betting. Sadly for sports fans in Wyoming, the state was not one of them.

However, all hope is not lost for Wyoming sports fans, pari-mutuel betting is legal in Wyoming and has been since 1967. The legal gambling age for pari-mutuel betting in Wyoming is 18. Under Wyoming laws pari-mutuel betting is allowed at horse race tracks where residents can place in-person wagers on live races, residents are also able to place bets on simulcast races at the state’s tribal casinos.

In an unusual move from Wyoming in 2010, the state allowed for pari-mutuel betting on Historical Horse Racing Terminals to be introduced which allows players to bet on historical horse races with the names of the running horses hidden to players. This form of betting has been so popular over hundreds of millions of dollars have been raised through it which has been reinvested in the state while also helping to boost the state’s horse breeding industry.

One other form of sports wagering that is tolerated in Wyoming is Daily Fantasy Sports. Daily Fantasy Sports has been tolerated in Wyoming for several years and it operates under a grey cloud of implied legality, we will discuss Daily Fantasy Sports and its legality in more detail later on this page.

Wyoming Online Gambling Age

Online gambling as a whole is illegal in Wyoming. Wyoming is considered incredibly conservative when it comes to these laws so it fits that online gaming is illegal. As all forms of it are illegal in Wyoming there is no legal restriction on age mentioned related to this.

As Wyoming’s state was incredibly reticent to allow for a bricks and mortar casino industry to be established in the 1980s when the Federal Indian Gaming Act was passed, it follows that online gaming has not yet taken root in the state. So strong is Wyoming’s stance against it that not only are there no online casinos in operation within the state, gambling using an out of state website or offshore website is explicitly illegal under state law.

Residents of Wyoming may notice that they can access gambling websites run by offshore operators. While these websites may seem exciting, Wyoming residents should be warned against using them. Firstly, these websites are not licensed or regulated in the US as they are based offshore – because of this should players encounter any issues with the websites or their operators they will have no recourse against the operators under US consumer protection laws. Secondly, as mentioned in the paragraph above online gambling is illegal in Wyoming and anyone caught participating in wagering on a website could be prosecuted.

With all forms of online wager placing banned in Wyoming, those wanting to wager in the state should look to land-based alternatives to get their fix. For a full list of them available in Wyoming as well as the ages required to participate in each take a look at our gambling ages table located at the top of this page.

Poker Gambling Age

As all forms of online gambling are illegal it will come as no surprise that online poker is also illegal in Wyoming. For those wanting their poker fix in Wyoming land-based games can be found within the state’s four land-based casinos – which is generally the best way to enjoy a game of poker in Wyoming. Social poker games are permitted under Wyoming’s laws but they do have strict rules associated with them. In order to play a social game of poker all players must have an established relationship and whoever is hosting the game must take no stake in the game in order for the game to be considered ‘social’ and therefore legal.

Daily Fantasy Sports

There are very few states in the US that have expressly legislated for Daily Fantasy Sports legality, most instead opt to allow Daily Fantasy Sports to operate under an umbrella of implied legality – Wyoming is one of these states. Under this implied legality residents who are above the age of 18 can participate in Daily Fantasy Sports games within the state.

Wyoming seems very happy to continue with Daily Fantasy Sports operating under a form of implied legality, for now, . The state doesn’t seem to see the need to expressly legislate for the games’ legality as there is an argument that it doesn’t need express legislation given that it is a game of skill not chance and is therefore not governed by the states gambling laws.

Legal Age to Play the Lottery in Wyoming

Wyoming is one of the most recent states in the US to adopt a state lottery with one only being instated in 2013 making it the 44th state in the US to adopt a lottery. The legal Wyoming gambling age for the state lottery is 18.

Wyoming’s lottery has become very popular with residents in a short space of time, this is potentially due to the wide variety of games on offer. Players are able to have access to many multi-jurisdictional games such as Lucky for Life, Mega Millions, Powerball alongside local state-run lottery games.

Wyoming has no online lottery available, this will come as no surprise as Wyoming is not a fan of any form of online gaming. Further, as the lottery is such a new form of gambling in the state it will probably take a while before the state even considers expanding the lotteries offering further to include online formats.

Wyoming Gambling Laws & Future Outlook

Wyoming’s state laws can be found in the state’s codes 6 & 11. Under these codes gambling is defined as, ‘risking any property for gain contingent in whole or part upon lot, chance, or outcome of an event, including a sporting event, over which person taking a risk has no control’. Like most other states in the US, Wyoming’s definition of this is broad enough so that it encompasses all forms of popular gambling, while also including enough ambiguity that it can also allow for games of skill to not fall within the laws remit.

In terms of Wyoming’s current gambling economy, it wouldn’t be considered booming compared to many other US states. However, Wyoming has a very small population and very few forms available for the state’s residents to enjoy. That being said the four tribal casinos in operation in the state still make over $110 million a year and support around 1,000 jobs.

There are taxes applied to winnings in Wyoming. All winnings are taxed at an individual’s personal income tax rate as gambling winnings are considered personal income. Further, any lottery winning above $5,000 in Wyoming also has to pay 25% in federal tax.

Wyoming’s gambling future looks to be much of the same. There are no moves within the state to open up the economy further by allowing any further options to be made legal. As mentioned before, Wyoming has a very small population and a history for being quite conservative when it comes to legal reform – so if there were to be any changes to the state laws these changes will most likely be considered over a prolonged period of time. Keep yourself up to date and informed regarding the wagering legalities in each state by checking out our full list of legal gambling ages in the USA.

Frequently Asked Questions

We hope that this page has given you a good insight into Wyoming’s gambling industry and the laws that govern it. If you have any questions that still need answers, take a look at the answers to the most frequently asked questions below.