Non-Tribal Gaming In Wyoming Sees Drop

Sports and horse race wagering in Wyoming dropped by more than 14% from 2009 to 2010, according to a new report. However, Casino City’s North American Gaming Almanac also showed a growth in those wagers of nearly 40-percent between in the previous two years.

Vin Narayanan is the managing editor for the report. He the 14% drop Wyoming saw in 2010 tracks closely with the national trend.

“It’s a combination of recession and it’s a combination of the fact that horse racing is a bit of a dying industry throughout the country,” says Narayanan. “Young people aren’t going to the tracks and betting, your horse racing betting population is getting older, and with less disposable income, and you throw the recession into that - all those combined to a drop in horse race wagering.”

Because the state does not have a lottery, bingo or any other form of gambling, that leaves tribal casinos as the only form of gambling available to Wyomingites. The gaming almanac did not closely track tribal casinos, but Narayanan says there was about a 1% revenue growth for the state’s tribal gaming facilities.