Wyoming’s Select Committee on Gaming has recommended draft legislation (27LSO-0098) that would ban online sweepstakes casinos in the state.
The proposal has now been presented to the Legislative Management Council for consideration ahead of the 2027 legislative session.
The recommendation moves a potential sweepstakes ban a step closer to becoming law, but it’s far from a done deal. The draft has not been formally introduced, and further decisions are needed before it can be considered by the full legislature.
The Select Committee on Gaming discussed the draft at a July 30 meeting, where representatives from Virtual Gaming Worlds (VGW), the company behind Chumba Casino, and ARB Interactive, the company behind Modo, gave public comment against the draft.
VGW also presented an alternative draft that would regulate sweepstakes gaming rather than prohibit it. A VGW representative noted that the company had been offering sweepstakes games in Wyoming since 2012.
After initially failing to advance the ban proposal in July, the committee then recommended it at its October 6 meeting this week.
What Does the Draft Say?
The draft would expand Wyoming’s gambling laws to explicitly cover operating sweepstakes casinos. Its definition is broad, covering games that use “single-currency, dual-currency, multi-currency, free-play, promotional-play, sweepstakes-entry or similar” systems.
The draft would also make it a felony to provide certain supporting services; that could include payment processing, geolocation, server hosting, platform services, gaming content, and advertising. On the other hand, it exempts Wyoming residents who participate solely as players, focusing on the operators instead.
Under existing Wyoming law, professional gambling is a felony punishable by up to three years in prison, a fine of up to $3,000, or both. 27LSO-0098 would bring the offering of sweepstakes games under that existing provision.
In fact, the broad definition of “sweepstakes game” goes beyond most other similar bills that we’ve seen over the last couple of years. These often capture ‘dual-currency’ systems only, but sweeps operators are already innovating with alternative models to skirt bans, including ‘single-currency’ models. However, the Wyoming bill could arguably cover these alternatives.
What Happens Next?
The next step is for the Legislative Management Council to consider whether the draft should be sponsored for introduction during the 2027 General Session; the council helps determine which proposals move forward for consideration by lawmakers.
If the draft is approved for sponsorship and formally introduced, it would then go through the normal legislative process; lawmakers could debate it, propose amendments, and vote on whether it should advance. The draft proposes an effective date of July 1, 2027.
Wyoming already prohibits real-money online casino gambling, although online sports betting and fantasy sports are legal. The legal position of sweepstakes casinos has been less clear cut, though.
In May 2025, the Wyoming Gaming Commission warned residents that no online casino or sweepstakes site was licensed by the state. However, 27LSO-0098 appears to be the first attempted piece of legislation to try and ban the sweeps format in the Equality State, and we’ll continue to track its progress as things advance.
Author: Michael Fatouros
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