CASPER — Appeals from a huge gaming company and a local businessman weren’t enough to sway the Casper City Council against imposing a six-month moratorium on the expansion of gambling in the city.
The council voted 7-2 Tuesday to approve the halt on any new horse racing simulcasting to allow the city to research the current state of the industry in Wyoming and develop potential zoning requirements for new locations.
The move, which one council member characterized as a “pause,” affects both historic horse racing and simulcasting businesses. Skill-based games are not part of the ban.
City Manager Janine Jordan told the council that the gaming work group approved by the council had three recommended goals to accomplish during the moratorium. Those include updating zoning ordinances to reflect current Wyoming statutes as of July 1.
Legislation stemming from Senate File 45 that took effect last week requires local approval for future historic horse racing locations.
The working group also recommends a required permit for simulcast gaming businesses, and for the city to allow for neighborhood land use restrictions at the request of neighborhoods or specific areas of the city, Jordan said.
In an initial memo to the council on the issue, the city manager reported that Casper received about $2.3 million in revenue from historic horse racing and simulcasting in 2025 and $60,000 from skill-based amusement games.
Voting in favor of the moratorium were Mayor Ray Pacheco, Vice Mayor Kyle Gamroth, and council members Michael McIntosh, Matt Larson, Michael Bond, Brandy Haskins, and Amber Pollock. Opposed were Gena Jensen and Pat Sweeney.
During the three readings of the bill, the council heard from Casper businessman John Johnson of the Johnson Restaurant Group opposing the moratorium and telling council members that any expansion of simulcast horse racing should be decided by “free enterprise.”
“It’s a form of entertainment that people like,” he said.
725 Machines In County
Attorney Affy Ellis, who represents Bally’s Corp., told the council that there are 725 simulcast horse racing machines in Natrona County, and that the sector had only seen an increase of 11 machines over a 14 month period.
She pointed out that in Cheyenne and Evanston, the expansion is happening on a larger scale.
Ellis said Bally’s opposes the moratorium and, while not yet in the Casper area, does not want to be shut out by competition as the company plans for its future in the state.
The council also heard from the executive director of the Wyoming Gaming Commission about the laws governing historic horse racing, simulcasting, and skill-based games.
Information provided the council showed that there are eight historic horse racing locations in the city of Casper and that historic horse racing and simulcasting terminals require state licensing.
Gamroth, Pollock and Pacheco all said that they have heard from residents who are concerned about the number of gaming facilities and it was important the city move forward in a measured way.
“The goal of this moratorium, at least from my perspective, is that it gives us time to develop that expertise, to solicit input from people that do have that expertise,” Gamroth said. “I feel that we are not really informed enough to develop this in a really data driven way.”
Haskins and Bond, who both serve on the city’s gaming workgroup, emphasized that Casper doesn’t have to take six months to accomplish the goals it has set out.
Haskins said the action is really just a “pause” and that the city does not yet have an ordinance to comply with new legislation on local control of gaming that took effect on July 1.
“We are in agreement in the working group that no, we don’t want to restrict business, we’re not making it an adult entertainment,” she said. “But do we want to talk about potential for parking? Do we want to look at specific zoning?
"And yes, the zoning people do have some things they want to clean up that we want to do.”
Haskins said those issues need to be addressed before another historic horse racing or simulcasting business arrives in the community.
'Protectionism?'
Jensen, who said she is OK with limiting gaming in the downtown area, said she voted against the moratorium because she believes it's not a pressing issue and pointed to the statistics shared that showed a new business in that area has not been established in the past few years.
She said the historic horse racing and simulcasting already are regulated by the state.
“We are really starting to teeter on the line of economic protectionism,” she said. “It’s an activity and it’s fun for those people who like to have gambling. I don’t feel we need to tell people how and where they can spend their money.”
Sweeney, who asked about trying to table the matter until September but then relented after learning from City Attorney Eric Nelson that he could only table the decision to the next meeting, said he remains opposed to the moratorium.
Sweeney said the moratorium limits the opportunity for business owners to sell their properties to whoever they choose.
“I do believe the council has a duty and a right to protect the public, but do we have a right to tell an existing owner of a property that has a full liquor license that they cannot sell to a simulcasting HHR operator?” Sweeney asked.
Pacheco voted for the moratorium and argued that the council is not “anti-business.”
“I’ve always said good planning is good governance, and so we will be doing that,” he said. “I know there are a lot of people who have become somewhat fatigued with gambling establishments.
"I get that feedback from a lot, and so I think this is a good opportunity for us to listen to that and be mindful.”
Nelson told the council members that whether they approved the moratorium or not, the city still needs to update ordinances and fix “antiquated definitions” to meet the requirements set by new legislation.
Dale Killingbeck can be reached at dale@cowboystatedaily.com.
