Wyoming sports betting market hits $6 million in wagers in debut month

The timing could not have been any more ideal for the Wyoming Pari-Mutuel Commission, after legalizing sports betting.

After this became available in September to customers in the state; coinciding with the start of the NFL season, it saw in excess of $6 million in wagers, with the lion’s share of this coming from football bets. To be exact, it amounted to $3.64 million, representing 58 per cent of the market.

Wyoming became the 23rd state to legalize online sports betting, coinciding with the state’s mobile sports betting initiative, which allowed sportsbooks to offer this to those wanting to bet via their mobile devices as well.

 

Only available online in Wyoming

Compared to some states that offer customers the opportunity to make wagers at land-based premises, such as casinos and racecourses, Wyoming only allows customers to make sports wagers online.

However, this is a decision that clearly has not affected demand as indicated by the first month’s figures. Situated in the Mountain West sub-region of the Western United States, Wyoming is particularly big with sports fans; ice hockey predominantly having a large following, though football remains the most popular.

As the figures indicate though, interest in wider sports is prevalent, with baseball revenue coming in at $959,950, followed by soccer $166,473. Perhaps interestingly, basketball was behind tennis with revenue of $98,790, as opposed to $116,332. The US Open tennis tournament at Flushing Meadows clearly had an effect on these figures, however.

 

A good start for Wyoming

These figures appear to have similarities with the state of Michigan which became regulated in January and as a result, the mid-western state has continued along the same trajectory. While not quite on the same level, this is still good, when considering the respective populations of both states.

In 2019, the number of registered residents in Wyoming stood at just under 600,000, compared to nearly 10 million for Michigan, so these revenue figures are relative and indicate that the future of the sports betting industry in Wyoming looks positive.