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Machines vs. Apps: How HHR and Skill Games Dwarfed Sports Betting in April
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Wyoming’s latest gambling ledger just dropped, and it reads like a high-stakes showdown between slot-style horses, bar-top skill cabinets, and your phone’s favorite sportsbook app.
Historic Horse Racing (HHR) once again ran away with the jackpot, while humble skill games quietly funneled nearly five times the tax haul of online sports bets. Simulcast racing and ADW barely moved the needle, proving that the action and the money live in the machines.
Here’s the April 2025 Gaming Commission report distilled into bite-size charts, quick math, and a few eyebrow-raising comparisons.
Wyoming Gambling Revenue – April 2025
| Segment | Handle / Total Wagers | GGR / Net Proceeds* | State Tax |
|---|---|---|---|
| Simulcast Horse Racing | $364,222 | $74,995 (take-out) | $5,463 |
| Historic Horse Racing (HHR) | $212.9 M | $19.0 M (take-out) | $532,332 |
| Advance-Deposit Wagering (ADW) | $406,162 | N/A† | $12,185 |
| Skill-Based Games | $10.5 M (total revenue) | $2.47 M (net proceeds) | $494,917 |
| Online Sports Betting | $15.8 M | $1.80 M (GGR) | $117,519 |
* The figure used is the closest “operator-kept” metric for each vertical: take-out for pari-mutuel, net proceeds for skill games, and GGR for sports.
† ADW doesn’t publish a payout line, so only wagers and tax are available.
Data source: Wyoming Gaming Commission Wagering Activity Report – April 2025
How the Money Shakes Out 💰
Tax Revenue by Segment
- Skill games vs. online sports bets: Skill-based amusement games generated ≈ $495 K in state tax, about 4.2× the $118 K kicked in by online sportsbooks.
- HHR still king: Historic Horse Racing machines contributed the single largest tax revenue of $532,000, plus an equal deposit into the LSRA (Legislative Stabilization Reserve Account), effectively doubling their impact on state coffers.
- Everyone else is pocket change: Simulcast racing and ADW combined don’t crack $18K in taxes, rounding errors compared to the big three verticals.
What Does Wyoming Bet On?
Below are the “Handle” or total wager placed highlights:
- HHR handle dwarfs every other product at $212.9 million, roughly 13× total sports-betting volume.
- Skill-game cabinets rang up $10.5 million in April, strong for what are essentially glorified bar-top games.
- Sportsbooks saw $15.8 million in wagers, with DraftKings alone taking more than half of that action.
Three Takeaways for Readers Who May Be New To This
- If you want to fund Wyoming’s rainy-day piggy bank, play the ponies digitally. Those HHR terminals keep the LSRA flush.
- Skill games may feel “small-stakes,” but they quietly rival slot machines for tax punch. A few quarters at the bar equals big bucks downtown in Cheyenne.
- Sports betting is popular but not (yet) the cash cow many expected. Until wagering volume and hold percentage pick up, the tax revenue for the state stays relatively slim.
Up next: May’s numbers will show whether spring sports (NBA playoffs, NHL playoffs) close the gap or if bar-top skill games keep running away with the tax crown. Stay tuned on AntlersArch.com for the monthly breakdowns!
AntlersArch founder and the voice behind Teton Tattle.
