Orrick Public Policy Team Guides Effort to Legalize Sports Betting in Wyoming

April.06.2021

Wyoming enacted legislation on April 5, 2021 that paves the way for legalized sports betting in the state. The law establishes a taxed and regulated sports betting market that affords participants consumer protections that currently do not exist in the widespread offshore illegal market. The Orrick team was instrumental in passing this law on behalf of leading sports entertainment platforms DraftKings and FanDuel.

Wyoming joins twenty three other states, Puerto Rico and Washington, D.C. in legalizing some form of sports betting – a wave of new legislation enacted throughout the country since 2018 as a result of the Orrick public policy team’s advocacy. Wyoming also joins Tennessee in advancing an innovative approach to the novel industry that authorizes online-only sports wagering, including through a mobile phone or any other Internet-connected device. Wyoming’s law will take effect on September 1, 2021 and sports betting is expected to go live before the end of the year.

The Orrick team was led by partners Jeremy Kudon, Scott Ward and Nicholas Green and of counsel Damon Stewart, and included Jon Mandel.

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Jeremy Kudon Partner, State Legislative & Regulatory, Gaming & Gambling

New York

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Technology & Innovation Sector
State Legislative & Regulatory
Gaming & Gambling
Strategic Advisory & Government Enforcement (SAGE)

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Jeremy Kudon Partner

New York

No other group in the United States - whether at a law firm, public affairs firm, or inside the Beltway - can match Jeremy and Orrick's record of success in the state legislatures. Unlike others, who specialize in tracking bills, identifying contract lobbyists (and taking a % of their fee), or developing expensive media and PR campaigns, Jeremy and his team don't specialize in any one area of state government affairs; they specialize in EVERYTHING. They learn your business, work with you on your objectives--both overall and in the state legislatures, identify threats/opportunities, develop a budget, hire contract lobbyists, draft legislation, prepare advocacy pieces, attend legislative conferences, travel to state capitols and educate members about your issue, testify before committees, develop and implement grassroots and PR campaigns, coordinate roll calls, and coordinate every aspect of both the state and overall campaign to add the most possible value to your business.

Just listen to what the media and our clients have to say – The New York Times profiled our efforts in passing online sports betting and daily fantasy sports legislation in an extensive above-the-fold report and in an episode of their podcast, “The Daily.” And from an interview with TechCruch, DraftKings CEO Jason Robins said Jeremy and Orrick’s Public Policy team have “helped us go from a tech company that didn’t know a whole lot about legislative affairs and regulation to really being sophisticated there” and praised that “For anyone who’s in a disruptive industry and might be regulated, they really did a fantastic job.”

Scott Ward Partner, State Legislative & Regulatory, Gaming & Gambling

Washington, D.C.

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Practice:

State Legislative & Regulatory
Gaming & Gambling
Strategic Advisory & Government Enforcement (SAGE)

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Scott Ward Partner

Washington, D.C.

Scott has spent years working in the political arena on both the federal and state level, promoting political and policy agendas via a national network of elected officials, policy makers and outside influence groups.

He has comprehensive experience in federal and state campaign finance, ethics, lobbying and compliance law, and assists clients in all aspects of compliance with rules related to engaging in the political process.

Prior to joining Orrick, he was the President and General Counsel of the Republican State Leadership Committee, a $30 million national political organization focused on electing Republicans to the state offices of Attorney General, Lieutenant Governor, Secretary of State, and State Legislator. Under his leadership, the Republican State Leadership Committee made historic gains in the 2010 elections, netting a record 700 plus state legislative seats, flipping 20 state chambers to Republican control as well as netting six Attorneys General, seven Secretaries of State and three independently elected Lt. Governors.

Scott was previously in private practice with Holtzman Vogel Josefiak PLLC and Arent Fox LLP in the areas of Political law and Litigation. He advised numerous IRS § 527 political organizations, federal and state political action committees, federal and state candidates, state parties, associations, corporations and non-profits in all aspects of fundraising, organization, compliance, disclosure and reporting under federal and state campaign finance laws.

He was General Counsel and served on the Executive Committee of the District of Columbia Republican Party from 2004 to 2012. Prior to his legal career, Scott served as Field Director for Americans for a Republican Majority Political Action Committee (ARMPAC) and worked on the majority staff of the U.S. House Budget Committee for Chairman John Kasich.

Damon Stewart Of Counsel, State Legislative & Regulatory, Strategic Advisory & Government Enforcement (SAGE)

New York

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D:+1 212 506 5207
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State Legislative & Regulatory
Strategic Advisory & Government Enforcement (SAGE)

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Damon Stewart Of Counsel

New York

Damon focuses his practice on state and locally based legislative and regulatory issues. He has experience inside of government, having served as Assistant Counsel to the New York Senate Majority. Subsequent to his time in the Senate, he served as a Vice President for the Parkside Group, a New York lobbying firm. He eventually transitioned to an in-house corporate position as Vice President for State Government Affairs for DIRECTV, with a national purview overseeing all aspects of state and local legislative matters for the company. Immediately prior to joining Orrick, he served as Vice President of Government Affairs and State Advocacy Coordinator at AT&T, maintaining national responsibility for satellite-related issues.

Related Areas

Gaming & Gambling