Management Council voted to sponsor working draft 26 LSO 0279 — a bill to limit skill-based amusement games to age-restricted portions of liquor-licensed establishments — after hearing industry testimony and concerns about machines appearing in grocery-store checkout areas.

Proponents from the amusement industry described a regulated market that evolved under a multi-year moratorium and subsequent rulemaking. "We asked for a cap on number of terminals — four per location — and a cap on total locations," said Matt Paschall of Cowboy Skill Games, who explained the licensing and approval steps operators use with the Wyoming Gaming Commission. Leslie George of Wyoming Amusement, a small-business owner who testified at length, said the terminal business has become a major revenue source for some operators and offered industry estimates of locations and terminals before and after the moratorium (figures given in testimony and presented here as speaker estimates).

Opponents and several legislators raised public-safety and youth-exposure concerns after an investigation into a Rock Springs Smith's store, where county officials and the Gaming Commission reported instances of underage minors near machines. "We find kids in the plan, but we tell them they shouldn't do that," Senator Kohl recounted of the Gaming Commission's findings; the commission temporarily shut the Rock Springs location and inspected other sites.

The online Gaming Commission representative clarified the agency's legal position: the commission "can't promulgate rules to deny the permit" to premises that meet statutory definitions but said the commission is examining rule changes that would require machines to be sited inside 21+ liquor sections or enclosed areas within non-age-restricted grocery stores. The official cautioned that the commission must still grant permits that meet current statutory requirements.

Lawmakers debated whether the commission's rulemaking authority would be sufficient to address the grocery-store placements or whether a statutory backstop was needed. Several committee members said they had previously received legal guidance that limited the commission's ability to refuse permits under existing statute; others said the director now believes additional placement rules can be adopted.

After closing public comment, Senator Salazar moved, and Representative Harrelson seconded, that Management Council sponsor the draft for the 2026 session. The motion carried on a roll-call sponsorship vote with 10 ayes recorded by the council clerk.

The bill moves to the session sponsors list for 2026; the bill text, committee amendments, and any Gaming Commission report will be the next items to watch as legislative drafting and rulemaking continue.

Ending: Management Council's sponsorship places 26 LSO 0279 on the 2026 session track; further action will depend on committee consideration during the session and any additional rulemaking activity from the Gaming Commission.