Wyoming Lawmakers Resurrect Gambling Commission Idea

THERMOPOLIS, Wyo. (AP) — Wyoming lawmakers are taking another look at establishing a state gambling commission.

The Legislature's Joint Travel, Recreation and Cultural Resources Committee had nixed the idea of a regulatory body to oversee everything from poker games to sports betting. The Casper Star-Tribune reports the Legislature's Management Council resurrected the idea Monday.

Right now, only the state Pari-Mutuel Commission oversees gambling in Wyoming and only regulates horse racing. Horse racing accounts for roughly $12 million in state and local taxes annually.

Republican Sen. Ogden Driskill, of Devils Tower, made a Management Council motion to form a task force to examine expanding the commission's oversight.

A similar proposal failed in the Legislature this year. Driskill says Wyoming isn't currently regulating gambling "and doing nothing is going to lead to bad results."