Online betting with crypto now legal in Wyoming
The state of Wyoming has officially passed a bill which will see the legalization of using cryptocurrencies in online sports betting. This means that gambling enthusiasts in Wyoming are now able to use cryptocurrencies to place wagers. Wyoming Governor Mark Gordon passed House Bill 133, meaning that this law will come into effect on the 1st of September. Wyoming is actually also the second state in the United States to legalize online sports betting.
Article 1 of the state’s legislation says that all types of cryptocurrencies are able to be used as an equivalent to cash, which means that the digital currencies can be changed into cash in order to use for online sports betting.
Aside from cryptocurrencies, gamblers are now also able to use traveler’s and cashier’s checks and credit cards to fund their accounts on online sports wagering platforms. It is possible that the platform licencees will need to supply the betting facilities in at least 3 regions in the United States to acquire permits from the Wyoming regulators, as is mentioned in the Bill.
The state is one of the most accepting and encouraging states in the US towards cryptocurrencies. It has been a legal payment mode for a while, and the state has been one of the first to allow crypto deposits in online gambling. In the United Kingdom however, bookmakers had allowed crypto payments since 2016.
Wyoming, along with its pro-crypto laws, is now viewed as a state that has more opportunities of standing against Delaware when it comes to advantage in business. Since 2018, cryptocurrencies were spared from being under the state’s regulations. Back in February of this year, Caitlin Long, who is the CEO of Avanti Financial Group, said that all blockchain-based companies thought that Wyoming is much more crypto friendly than Delaware was.
Despite that, many iGaming operators are still concerned over the use of crypto since it is so unpredictable and unstable, especially Bitcoin. This is because when a gambler places a bet using, for example, on Bitcoin, and that bet is successful, then the operator needs to pay out the original bet as well as whatever the winning amount is. This renders sports betting an extremely unpredictable activity, as many sportsbooks have had to shut down because of this.