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Wyoming lawmakers are moving to explicitly ban online sweepstakes casinos, with draft legislation that would make operating them a felony. The proposal comes as state officials say wagering in Wyoming is climbing rapidly and complaints about sweepstakes products are caught in a regulatory gray area.
According to the Wyoming Tribune Eagle, lawmakers on the Select Committee on Gaming unanimously sponsored the 2027 draft bill. If enacted, the measure would make operating online sweepstakes games a felony offense.
Wyoming law already prohibits online casino gambling, while online sports betting and fantasy sports contests are legal. But the article says state law is less clear on online sweepstakes products, creating confusion over which agency should handle complaints.
Committee says current law leaves a gray area
WGC Executive Director Nicholas Larramendy said complaints about online sweepstakes games are often sent back and forth between the Wyoming Consumer Protection and Antitrust Unit and the Wyoming Gaming Commission in a “constant cycle.” He said consumer protection officials view the products as gambling, adding: “This bill definitely makes it very clear that this is illegal gambling.”
Former state Sen. Affie Ellis told lawmakers that online casinos and online sweepstakes “can look almost identical when you play them online.” She added that they may resemble “the same slot machine, same blackjack table, same jackpot animations,” even though they are “two fundamentally different products.”
VGW pushes back on proposed language
Bill Gantz, an attorney for VGW, argued the bill is too broad. He said sweepstakes tied to the purchase of a good or service are currently valid in Wyoming and should remain allowed.
Gantz also said VGW has operated online sweepstakes games in Wyoming since 2012. He warned that, if passed as written, the proposal would make Wyoming an outlier by not allowing a free entry to be used in a game that awards a prize.
Why the proposal matters now
The debate comes as Wyoming’s gambling market continues to grow. Larramendy said about $2.7 billion was wagered across all forms of legalized gambling in the state last year, and that 2026 is on pace to exceed $3 billion.
Wyoming created its Select Committee on Gaming in 2025 to address gambling issues in the state. In addition to the sweepstakes bill, the committee also sponsored separate draft legislation to update fingerprinting requirements for some people regulated by the Wyoming Gaming Commission.
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Source: As reported by wyomingnews.com.
