As regulated gaming, especially sports betting, continues to grow in the United States more and more lawmakers are looking at ways to wring more tax dollars out of their newly minted cash cows. The latest entry into that category is the State of Wyoming where lawmakers are considering tax increases on sports betting, games of skill, and horse racing.
The idea for new taxes on gaming came up late last week during a meeting of the Legislature’s Select Committee on Capital Financing and Investments. Their proposed tax increases included doubling the sports betting tax from 10 percent of revenue to 20 percent; increasing the tax on skill-based games from 20 percent of net proceeds to 25 percent; and increasing the tax on horse racing from 1.5 percent to 2.5 percent.
Most of the proposals came from Committee Chair Tara Nethercott, R-Cheyenne, who thinks the State has been a little too kind to operators, including those running skill-based games to benefit charities. “I think the state of Wyoming has been quite generous to the players in this space giving them almost exclusive access to the market, in a proliferated rate — having infiltrated every block of all our communities,” she told the Cowboy State Daily newspaper.
Despite concerns that the proposed increases would benefit black market gambling operations and hurt local charities, Nethercott reflects the massive growth the gaming sector has experienced recently. “As the industry has grown exponentially in recent years, Wyoming needs to establish enhanced oversight and revenues to match the growing needs from impacts in our communities,” she said.
Given Wyoming’s minuscule population, it’s unclear how much tax revenue these moves would really generate.