Wyoming Set to Punish Gamblers Who Harass Athletes

The Wyoming Gaming Commission has voted to create new rules that will punish people that harass athletes over their performance.

The decision follows a series of reports of both college and professional athletes being harassed by sports bettors for the performances in a game.

Those incidents led gaming commissions in multiple states to consider their rules on betting with player props bets for college events coming under scrutiny.

After four months of discussion, the Wyoming Commission decided that instead of banning the bets, they would instead take action against the bettors who were harassing the players. The new rules, approved in a meeting on November 22nd,  state that any person found harassing an athlete over the performance will be automatically placed on the state’s involuntary gambling exclusion list.

The definition of harassment is now clearly outlined in the commission’s rules:

“Harass” encompasses behaviors such as verbal, written, or electronic threats, lewd or obscene messages or images, acts of vandalism, or physical contact without consent. These actions must be targeted at an individual with the awareness—or reasonable assumption—that they would result in considerable emotional distress, fear for personal safety, or anxiety about potential property damage.

Actions Over Athlete Harassment

At present, only two other states, Ohio and West Virginia, have created rules that address athlete harassment.

Ohio’s law, introduced in 2023, bans anyone found guilty of harassment form participating in sports betting. This was the first law of its kind in the country.

West Virginia soon followed with a similar law, HB4700, that took effect in May 2024.

In response to the NCAA’s request that all state ban college props betting, several states have now banned this type of wager completely.

States that have Banned College Props Betting

• Arizona
• Colorado
• Florida
• Louisiana
• Maine
• Maryland
• Massachusetts
• Mississippi
• New York
• Ohio
• Oregon
• Pennsylvania
• South Dakota
• Tennessee
• Vermont
• Virginia
• West Virginia

Bookmakers reacted to the bans and the NCAA’s request by stating that a ban would push this type of wager into illegal and unregulated gambling markets.

In a joint letter, BetMGM, DraftKings, FanDuel, and Fanatics—four leading sports betting companies in the U.S.—contended that a ban “could actually exacerbate” issues. The companies argued that college athletes and their sports are “safer under the transparency of licensed sports betting than hidden within the shadows of illegal gambling.”

However, the NCAA, state gaming commissions, and responsible gambling groups have pushed back at these suggestions.

At a National Council on Problem Gambling conference in July of this year, Jordan Maynard of the Massachusetts Gaming Commission said:

“We’ve all been at these games. Don’t lie – to yourself, or to anybody else,” he said. “The people screaming at these kids, this has gotten worse since sports wagering passed … We can’t put our head in the sand and say it’s not an issue.”

Jenny Tang

An experienced iGaming commentator and analyst based in New York City – Jenny reports on regulation and gambling industry news and events.