In an effort to boost state revenue, lawmakers in Wyoming are thinking of doubling the 10% online sports betting tax to 20%. Reports that Wyoming lags behind other states in tax collection have prompted the proposed hike.
Wyoming lawmakers pushed Thursday to take a bigger share of certain gambling income after finding that existing taxes on online sports betting are lower than in other states.
According to the Legislative Service Office, online betting activity has reached $629.7 million over the last five years, with the state receiving $3.8 million in tax revenue. Wyoming presently taxes online sports wagering revenue at 10%.
Each year, the Wyoming Department of Health receives the first $300,000 of that tax to send to counties to treat problem gambling. The remainder is put in the state’s primary spending account, known as the general fund.
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However, during the Legislature’s Select Committee on Capital Financing and Investments meeting in Cheyenne, Legislative Service Office associate fiscal analyst Karen Vaughn said the average tax on online sports wagering in other states is 19%.
“I can tell you that none of the surrounding states are lower than 10%, or 10% or less,” Vaughn said.
Rep. Liz Storer, D-Jackson, successfully moved to draft a bill raising the online sports wagering tax in Wyoming to 20%.
This number is a “placeholder,” Chairwoman Sen. Tara Nethercott, R-Cheyenne, noted, as legislative staff work to calculate the fiscal impact of this tax for the committee’s next meeting.
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