Wyoming lawmakers advance gambling regulations, reject cap on Historic Horse Racing machines

Wyoming legislative leaders advanced a slate of gambling bills last week aimed at tightening oversight of the fast-growing wagering sector, while rejecting a proposal to cap the number of Historic Horse Racing (HHR) terminals operating in the state.

The Legislature’s Management Council approved several measures intended to expand state authority over gambling and create felony penalties for money laundering, but voted 5–4 against moving forward a bill that would have limited each operator to 3,004 HHR machines per permitted live track.

Sen. Bo Biteman, a Ranchester Republican, questioned the underlying purpose of HHR, saying the state had allowed gambling “only to support one industry where the people don’t even really show up.” He added: “We get a room full of lawyers and lobbyists to protect it because there’s huge money involved.”

Pete Liguori, partner at Wyoming Horse Racing, defended the model, saying race prize funding had grown from $800,000 to a projected $3.4 million. “Racing is a loss leader, for lack of a better word, to allow the broader economic impact for the state,” he said, adding the company expected to spend $4.5 million on live racing operations next year.

Other lawmakers argued the cap did not address broader challenges in the sector. Rep. Jeremy Haroldson said the public increasingly viewed Wyoming as “a gambling state,” while Sen. Barry Crago said the bill failed to confront underlying market expansion.

In a separate action, the Council voted 9–0 to advance a bill requiring local approval for simulcasting facilities - a change the drafting committee’s co-chair, Sen. John Kolb, described as its “number one goal.” The bill received support from municipal leaders, including Cheyenne City Council member Dr. Mark Rinne, who said: “We’ve never wavered on this. We would like to see this bill move forward.”

The measure preserves the state’s 100-mile rule, which bars simulcasting near live tracks unless the track operator signs off. Affie Ellis, legal counsel for Cowboy Racing, welcomed the decision, saying the restriction was “a significant reason why my client has invested millions of their private money into building this track.”

Lawmakers also advanced two bills targeting criminal activity. One establishes state felony offenses for money laundering and illegal investment, passing 9–1. Ellis said strengthening state-level enforcement was a high priority. 

Kyle Ridgeway, president of 307 Horse Racing and Wyoming Downs, supported the measure: “We’ve been supportive of the anti-money-laundering efforts and have been in compliance with what this statute would say for some time. My understanding of the nature of the bill is that it’s to catch up with the fact that we have a law requiring it.”

A second bill, also approved 9–1, tightens the statutory definition of gambling by narrowing the “bona fide social relationship” exemption. Rep. Jayme Lien said the intent was to ensure friends can still play cards at home “as long as nobody is running the house or turning a friendship into business.”

The Council unanimously backed another measure restricting skill-based amusement games to liquor-licensed venues that allow alcohol consumption. The bill follows reports of gambling machines appearing in grocery stores and being accessed by minors. “(Gaming machines in grocery stores) is egregious to me,” Kolb said. “It violates the trust I think we all had with the industry.”

Leslie George, co-owner of Wyoming Amusement Inc., said skill games account for 80% to 85% of her company’s revenue but agreed regulation was needed. “Absolutely, we have to clean up grocery stores,” she said.

Gaming Commission director Nick Larramendy said regulators plan to amend rules to ensure that if grocery stores obtain permits, machines are confined to their liquor-store areas.