I was asked about Wyoming in this post:
"Being the new State Director for Wyoming, I was planning on trying to organize a tournament this summer. I would like to know if I am interpreting the law correctly. It appears to me that I can organize, advertise, and hold said tournament with the following provisions.
1. At least 10% of "prize" pool must be donated to a charitable organization.
2. I must give the city council a 30 day advance written notice of said tournament. (to give them time to vote it down. that saddens me)
Your help on this will be greatly appreciated."
I replied:
Hi Daniel, welcome to the forum!
Do you have a copy of the Wyoming statute you are relying on? On short notice I only have access to internet information, and checking
http://www.gambling-law-us.com/Charitable-Gaming/Wyoming/
it seems the only charitable games allowed are Raffles, Bingo, Pulltab games, and "calcutta wagering." And only the "calcutta wagering" game (in which participants make bids to "own" a player in an amateur event (although professional rodeo is allowed?), highest bidder gets the player, if the player wins, highest bidder gets the prize) has the 30 day notice rule.
Perhaps Wyoming has updated the statute?
On the other hand, Wyoming does allow "bone fide contests of skill." Is a poker tournament a contest of skill? Thats part of our discussion and mission here, to be able to confidently answer "yes."
Poker in any professional room is clearly barred by Wyoming law, as it defines gambling as wagering on a game "contingent in whole OR IN PART on ... chance."
On the other hand again, Wyoming does not consider "(E) Any game, wager or transaction which is incidental to a bona fide social relationship, is participated in by natural persons only, and in which no person is participating, directly or indirectly, in professional gambling" to be gambling. Professional gambling is basically making a profit from the game other than as a player. But does not include merely being the owner of premises where the excepted game is played (Profit " does not include benefits of proprietorship or management of a business wherein a game, wager or transaction described in W. S. 6-7- 101(a)(iii)(E) occurs").
So unless they have amended the statute recently to include poker tournaments, the only way you can have one is to be prove it is a "bone fide contest of skill" and if you can do that the charitable aspect is irrelevant.
The social gaming exception does seem to have some room to structure an event around, as I think being a PPA member may qualify as a "bone fide social relationship." And if so, some kind of set up could be constructed as long as no direct profit was taken directly from the money in the game(s).
Before setting anything up, I would want to consult with an attorney licensed in Wyoming, if you know one willing to help, great! If not, the PPA hopes to have a nationwide referral list of local attorneys available within the next couple of months.
Please let me know if this helps or if I have missed anything, its hard keeping up to date with the latest laws of all 50 states. I even checked the official Wyoming Legislature site and although I found that bills were introduced to expand the list of charitable games, I could not find that any had actually become law.
Skallagrim