The Wyoming Gaming Commission has issued a firm and slightly exasperated reminder: If you’re spinning slots or playing blackjack on your phone for real cash, and it’s not through a licensed Wyoming online casino platform, you’re gambling illegally.
In a press release this week, the Commission called out the rising tide of shady iGaming platforms, think online poker, solitaire cash, roulette, and digital casinos, targeting Wyomingites with the glitzy promise of instant riches. The problem? None of them are legal in the Cowboy State.
“We want to make it unequivocally clear: no online casino, iGaming, or sweepstakes site is licensed by the Wyoming Gaming Commission,” said Executive Director Nicholas Larramendy. “Engage with them at your own risk—we can’t help if they ghost you after hitting a jackpot.”
Some of these sketchy operations go the extra mile by setting up Wyoming LLCs and slapping Jackson Hole PO boxes on their websites, hoping to pass as legitimate. But don’t be fooled: Just because a casino has a .wy address doesn’t mean it’s on the level.
Regulated Means Tax Revenue for Wyoming
Unlike Wyoming’s regulated online sports betting market, which is taxed, transparent, and plays by the rules, these offshore iGaming platforms are totally unregulated. Translation: If your winnings disappear into a black hole of bad customer service, you’re on your own.
The state’s crackdown comes on the heels of impressive revenue figures from legitimate forms of gaming. In April alone, legal skill games and Historical Horse Racing machines generated nearly four times the tax revenue of online sports betting, proving that licensed, above-board operations are doing just fine without the help of digital roulette wheels running out of Belize.
Check The App – Avoid The Risks
The bottom line? Wyoming law doesn’t allow online casinos, and if a site tells you otherwise, it’s bluffing harder than a busted hand at a poker table.
If you’re unsure whether a gambling site is legit, the Gaming Commission urges you to check first via gaming.wyo.gov or call them at 307-265-4015. And if your gambling is getting a little too real, help is available at 1-800-GAMBLER or through the Wyoming Council on Problem Gambling.
AntlersArch founder and the voice behind Teton Tattle.
