Strapped for cash and staring down a multimillion-dollar budget gap, Jackson’s leaders are debating tax hikes while a literal jackpot sits untouched just beyond the city limits. Imagine plugging that hole with money tourists happily drop on a rainy-day flutter, no bake sales, no new mill levies, just a handful of historic horse-racing terminals and skill-game cabinets humming away in a tucked-away lounge.
Before you roll your eyes at the “g-word,” consider this: Counties across Wyoming are cashing six-figure checks every quarter from these machines, and they didn’t even have to repaint Main Street.
Ready to see how letting a few digital ponies run could save Jackson’s bottom line? Let’s dive in.
1. Jackson’s Budget Is Bucking (and Not in a Good Way)
- $3.8 million — that’s the gap county officials are scrambling to close for the coming fiscal year. Both the County Commission and Town Council are already dipping into reserves and eyeing mill-levy hikes or new local taxes just to keep pace with basic services.
2. Where the Easy Money Already Flows in Wyoming — Q1 2025
| Product | Handle (Jan 1–Mar 31) | Operator “Commission”* | Public Revenue** |
|---|---|---|---|
| Historic Horse Racing (HHR) | $574.6 M | $51.4 M | $8.6 M |
| Online Sportsbooks | $63.0 M | $6.1 M (GGR) | $0.36 M |
* The “Takeout” line for HHR; GGR for sports wagering.
** Combined State tax, LSRA (school fund), all county & city distributions.
Source: Wyoming Gaming Commission’s Q1 2025 report (page 45).
Main Takeaway: In Q1 2025, HHR produced 24× the public dollars of online sports wagering, while handling only 9× the bets.
3. What Jackson Is Leaving on the Table
- No local slice: Counties that host HHR terminals split about 35% of the state tax pool. Teton County’s share today? $0.00.
- Spectrum Gaming’s independent market study pegs Wyoming’s total HHR potential at $408.8 million in annual gross gaming revenue, driven largely by out-of-state visitors.
- Tourism fire-hose: GTNP logged 3.6 million recreation visits in 2024, with the vast majority coming from outside Wyoming. Suppose even 5% of those visitors wagered an average of $100 during a rainy-day detour in town. In that case, that’s ~$17.5 million in extra local handle and six-figure direct payments to Jackson/Teton before a single resident drops a quarter.
4. Proof of Concept Next Door
- Laramie County just green-lit a brand-new Wyoming Downs HHR parlor aimed squarely at “out-of-state clientele.”
- Natrona & Sweetwater each banked well over $1 million in direct city/county HHR distributions in 2024 (Jan-June + Jul-Dec reports).
- Those checks helped fund everything from sheriff overtime to fairgrounds upgrades, without raising taxes on locals.
5. What’s Actually Required in Teton County
- Board resolution – Commissioners must approve an operator/site (Wy Stat § 11-25-102).
- Site specifics – Applicants typically carve out a supervised 21+ gaming lounge separate from family areas (see the 2022 Hole Bowl plan).
- Regulatory backdrop – Pari-mutuel wagering is already legal county-wide (voters said yes back in 1973); the missing piece is simply authorizing an operator and machines.
6. Addressing the Usual Objections
| Concern | Reality-Check |
|---|---|
| “We’ll become Casino Row.” | State law caps where HHR can operate (must be tied to live-race permittees); Teton could limit terminals to one or two venues. |
| “Locals will blow rent money.” | More than 80% of Jackson’s summer/fall spending already comes from non-residents. Requiring ID-verified player cards lets regulators monitor problem gamblers. |
| “It’s not our brand.” | Think of it like après-ski: A contained, adult diversion that keeps visitors in town a little longer, spending on food, rideshares, and lodging taxation along the way. |
7. Projected Impact for Jackson/Teton (Conservative Scenario)
- $25M annual local handle (≈5 % of current statewide total)
- Local distribution: ~$250-300k to County + $250k to Town
- State School fund (LSRA): ~$ 120k
- Job creation: 20–30 FTE equivalents (cashiers, security, hospitality)
(Numbers scaled from current WGC per-dollar distribution rates.)
That’s half a million new dollars a year — the equivalent of adding another full mill of property tax without touching homeowners.
8. The Bottom Line
Jackson’s leaders can crank property taxes and cross their fingers, or they can tap a proven revenue geyser that’s already gushing for the rest of Wyoming… and have tourists foot most of the bill.
A fresh vote (or a simple BOCC resolution) could bring Historic Horse Racing and regulated skill-games inside county lines before next summer. Given the looming $3.8 million budget hole, it might be time to let a few electronic ponies run.
Got thoughts? Email me or chime in at the next BOCC meeting. Either way, the numbers say Jackson shouldn’t leave this money on the table, especially when visitors are ready to ante up.
AntlersArch founder and the voice behind Teton Tattle.
