LSO memo: Wyoming’s gaming tax rates similar to other states, but per‑capita figures can mislead

The Select Committee on Gaming heard a detailed research memorandum on July 30 comparing Wyoming’s gaming handle and tax revenues with other states.

Jessie Schafer, a research analyst with the Legislative Service Office, told the committee the memo compares Wyoming to states such as Kentucky, Virginia, Maine and Vermont across pari‑mutuel events, online sports wagering and skill‑based amusement gaming. Schafer cautioned that per‑capita measures can be misleading in Wyoming because the state’s population (about 588,000) is small relative to states such as Virginia (about 8.8 million) and Kentucky (about 4.6 million). “Per‑capita measurement by itself may skew some comparisons…because it’s an average and doesn’t account for other factors,” she said.

The memo shows tax rates across jurisdictions are often similar, but total handle and the number of facilities vary widely. Schafer pointed to Kentucky’s roughly $10 billion pari‑mutuel handle in 2024 and noted Wyoming has relatively more off‑track facilities while Kentucky has more racetracks. She also warned that state reporting periods differ (some use fiscal years; Wyoming uses calendar years) and that some states recently reclassified or changed how they report particular game types, limiting direct comparability.

Committee members asked whether nonresident wagers—people traveling into Wyoming—could be identified in the data. Schafer replied that residency at the time of wager is not consistently collected and so LSO could not quantify cross‑border play without additional commission data. She also pointed members to appendix tables that show how some states dedicate a share of gaming receipts (for example, Maine reports 1% of gross receipts to a gambling addiction prevention and treatment fund).

Why it matters: the memo provides a factual baseline for lawmakers as they consider legislation to centralize and expand funding for responsible‑gaming programs. It shows Wyoming’s total tax collections and handles are large in absolute terms for certain gaming segments but that those figures do not necessarily indicate higher tax rates or unusual policy levers compared with peer states.