Wyoming Statewide Rule

Wyoming Excludes Bona Fide Social Bets From Gambling

Few RestrictionsApplies statewide across Wyoming (2026)

Key Facts

Governing statute: Wyo. Stat. § 6-7-101(a)(iii)(E)
Social-relationship definition: § 6-7-101(a)(xiv)
Definition added: 2011 HB0188, effective July 1, 2011
Test requires: Natural persons only, private, unadvertised, no cut
Fails test: Misdemeanor, up to 6 months, $750 fine
Professional gambling: Felony, up to 3 years, $3,000 fine
2025 development: LSO study proposed narrowing the exclusion

Last verified: August 21, 2026

Summary

Wyoming's gambling statute carves the family poker night and the office Super Bowl squares pool out of the crime entirely. Wyo. Stat. section 6-7-101(a)(iii)(E) excludes any game or wager incidental to a bona fide social relationship, limited to natural persons, kept private and unadvertised, where no one profits beyond their own winnings. Meet all five conditions and the wager was never "gambling" under Wyoming law.

"Gambling" means risking any property for gain contingent in whole or in part upon lot or chance in any game played with cards, dice, balls or on any gambling device or contingent on the happening or outcome of an event ... but does not include ... (E) Any game, wager or transaction: (I) Incidental to a bona fide social relationship; (II) Participated in by natural persons only; (III) Conducted in a private manner, at a private place or at a business or fraternal organization for which the primary source of revenue ... is not derived from any activity involving risking property for gain; (IV) Not advertised or otherwise open to public participation; and (V) In which no person receives any remuneration ... other than the direct realization of winnings. ... "Bona fide social relationship" means a genuine social relationship between two (2) or more persons wherein each person has an established knowledge of the other. "Bona fide social relationship" shall not include a social relationship which has arisen for the purpose of gambling.

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Full Breakdown

Wyoming's Title 6 gambling article defines "gambling" broadly as risking property on chance or an uncontrolled outcome, then carves out five specific exclusions in Wyo. section 6-7-101(a)(iii)(A) through (O). Subparagraph (E) is the social-bet exclusion: a game, wager, or transaction is not gambling at all if it is incidental to a bona fide social relationship, involves natural persons only, is conducted privately (not at a business or fraternal organization whose revenue depends on risking property for gain), is not advertised or open to public participation, and pays no one anything beyond the direct realization of winnings.

The legislature defined "bona fide social relationship" in section 6-7-101(a)(xiv) as a genuine relationship in which each person has established knowledge of the other, expressly excluding any relationship that arose only for the purpose of gambling. That definition was added by 2011 House Bill 188 (11LSO-0529), effective July 1, 2011, to give courts a standard for the older "social relationship" exclusion already on the books. Because the exclusion removes the activity from the definition of gambling altogether, a qualifying poker night, fantasy football buy-in pool, or March Madness bracket among friends carries no state gambling exposure and requires no license, unlike the charitable bingo or Calcutta wagering exclusions in the same subsection, which impose licensing and payout conditions.

The five-part test is strict, though: a 2025 Legislative Service Office fact sheet prepared for the Select Committee on Gaming (25LSO-0062) flagged that unlicensed card rooms and organizers taking a "house cut" were exploiting the ambiguity of "bona fide social relationship" to operate as de facto casinos, prompting draft legislation to tighten the definition.

Violations & Penalties

A wager that fails any of the five conditions in section 6-7-101(a)(iii)(E) reverts to ordinary "gambling," a misdemeanor under Wyo. Stat. section 6-7-102(a) punishable by up to six months in jail, a $750 fine, or both. If a person aids, induces, or profits from organizing the game beyond their own winnings, it becomes "professional gambling," a felony under section 6-7-102(b) punishable by up to three years imprisonment and a $3,000 fine. Any peace officer may seize gambling devices, records, and proceeds under section 6-7-103.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is a home poker game with friends legal in Wyoming?

Yes, provided it meets all five conditions in Wyo. Stat. section 6-7-101(a)(iii)(E): only natural persons play, the game is incidental to a genuine pre-existing social relationship, it happens privately without advertising, and no one collects a cut beyond their own winnings. A game organized among strangers purely to gamble does not qualify as a "bona fide social relationship" under section 6-7-101(a)(xiv).

What counts as a "bona fide social relationship" under Wyoming law?

The statute defines it in section 6-7-101(a)(xiv) as a genuine relationship in which each participant has an established knowledge of the other, and it expressly excludes any relationship that arose only because the people wanted to gamble together. Coworkers, neighbors, or longtime friends typically qualify; strangers recruited from an online ad or flyer for a cash game do not.

Can I run a March Madness pool at my workplace?

It can, but the office pool must stay unadvertised beyond the workplace, involve only natural persons, and the business cannot derive its primary revenue from gambling activity. If the employer or organizer takes a percentage as a hosting fee rather than simply collecting their own bet, the pool loses the exclusion and becomes gambling under section 6-7-102(a).

What happens if the game's host takes a cut of the pot?

Taking any remuneration for hosting, dealing, or organizing beyond your own winnings disqualifies the game from the social exclusion under section 6-7-101(a)(iii)(E)(V). That conduct is "professional gambling" under section 6-7-102(b), a felony punishable by up to three years imprisonment and a $3,000 fine, and the cash and equipment are subject to seizure under section 6-7-103.

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