Casinos in wyoming

The Biggest Casinos in Wyoming

Racinos

A racino is a casino based around a racetrack that hosts regular horse races for para-mutual wagering as well as other kinds of bets, depending on the state laws. These races take place frequently and are a huge attraction for many. Wyoming has no racinos to speak of but does have two horse racetracks, namely Sweetwater Downs and Wyoming Downs.

Are There Cruise Ship or Riverboat Casinos in Wyoming?

Cruise ship/riverboat casinos are casinos that exist on a barge, ship, or riverboat on specific, government assigned bodies of water. In times past, these kinds of casinos were obligated to cruise regularly to remain open. Nowadays though, it’s more of a technicality and thus many water-based casinos simply remain docked. Wyoming does not feature any of these kinds of casinos because the state laws are restrictive of gambling and do not allow non-Indian casinos of any kind.

Expected New Casinos

The Wyoming legislature is currently looking into a bill that would revise the way legal gambling in Wyoming is regulated and hand some of that regulatory power over to other bodies. The extension of gaming regulation could lead to the expansion of gaming as a whole and be the forerunner to a new commercial casino. It is however, unclear at this point whether the state seeks to use the bill to expand gaming capability or to simply nip illegal gambling in the bud. It is suspected no official decision on the bill will be reached before late or early

Gambling Legal Situation in Wyoming

• Definition of gambling

  WY defines gambling as staking anything of value on lots or chance for the purpose of material gain.

• Horse race betting legal

  This law represents the legality of horse races and related off-track and pari-mutual wagering as long as it is within the bounds of the commissions regulations.

• Commercial casinos on land, boats or otherwise, illegal

  This law shows that commercial casinos of any kind are completely banned in WY without exception.

History

Gambling in Wyoming was considered taboo by legislature for a long time. There was even an act specifically geared at banning any games of chance completely in the early s. This was eventually lifted, and the state has slowly come around since. Here are the important highlights of WY’s gambling history:

• The McGill act was passed in as a blanket ban on all forms of gambling as it is defined by the state. This ban lasted for many years.

• There was an official bill-push to legalize gambling to some extent in this year, but it fell flat and never came to pass and thus gambling remained illegal.

• In laws were officially passed to allow Indian tribes to facilitate gambling operations. While the law technically allowed for it, there were many restrictions in place that held Indian tribes back from actually materializing a proper casino.

• Indian casinos were granted stage 3 gambling rights in which is when gambling started to gain some popularity in Wyoming. The Northern Arapaho Tribes took the state to federal court and fought a long and arduous battle to gain these rights.

• This is when the state joined the other 45 states that have a national lottery. As you can see by the date, Wyoming was considerably late to the gambling table and the state lottery too.

Upcoming Changes in the Gambling Regulation

There are no major changes to gambling law expected in the near future in Wyoming. Much of the public is disinterested in the idea of commercial casinos. Many believe this is due to the long history of seeing gambling as a negative thing in the state. Wyoming may in the near future, for the first time ever, institute a gambling regulatory body. This may herald legislative changes in the future that relax gambling regulations, but it is unclear at this point whether that will be the case.

Wyoming Casino Resorts and Trips

Casino resorts are casinos that also offer accommodation, dining, and other non-gambling related services and deals. Two of Wyoming’s wonderful casinos are fully operational resorts too! Each has unique offerings that are sure to make for a fantastic experience. Check their offerings below.

About Wyoming