GILLETTE, Wyo. (AP) - A Wyoming city is considering whether to require businesses to get permits for gambling machines.
The Gillette City Council will consider a proposed ordinance for “skill game” devices, in which participants can use memory or judgment to affect the outcome, at a meeting Feb. 18, the Gillette News-Record reports.
If approved after three readings, the ordinance would require business owners to pay an annual $1,200 fee for a permit and $500 per machine.
No business could have more than five gambling machines, which have become more common in Wyoming in recent years.
Wyoming lawmakers propose expanding the purview of the state Pari-Mutuel Commission, which regulates betting on horse racing and historical horse racing videos, to include other forms of gambling. They’ve drafted a bill for this winter’s four-week legislative session, which begins Monday.
Gillette has about 35 businesses with machines that would fall under the proposed ordinance.
A partner in one business questioned whether the city could implement such a law.
“It’s going to be more trouble than it’s worth to think they have the time, money and manpower,” Eugene Joyce with Wyoming Historic Horse Racing said.
The ordinance would protect people from potentially not receiving their winnings because a business could not pay them, City Administrator Pat Davidson said.
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