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Adam Roarty is a journalist covering sports betting, regulation, and industry innovation for CasinoBeats. His coverage includes tax increases in the UK, covering breaking stories in the ever-evolving landscape of US betting such as the...
Read Full BioWisconsin lawmakers have approved legislation that could see the state launch online sports betting. The state’s Senate voted in favor of the bill on Tuesday. With the House approving it last month, it will now be up to Gov. Tony Evers to ratify.
AB601 will amend Wisconsin law to allow residents to place online bets on mobile or other electronic devices, provided the server is physically located on tribal lands.
Senators voted 21-12 in favor of the bill, after it had scraped through the Senate Organization committee in a 3-2 vote on Monday.
A spokesperson for Gov. Evers previously said he is likely to sign such a bill into law as long as it is passed in consultation with Wisconsin’s tribes, which it did.
Online Betting Already Exists
Sen. Kristin Dassler-Alfheim, one of the bill’s co-sponsors, said she supported legalization as a way to control the already existing online gambling market.
In comments reported by the Milwaukee Journal, she stated, “If we’re going to have online gambling – which we are. It already exists on the edges, behind closed doors. It’s already there. And it’s already being abused by some and that’s not going to change. I would rather us put as many parameters around it as we can to take care of our consumers and keep the revenue.”
Assembly Speaker Robin Vos grudgingly supports legalization, admitting that Wisconsin cannot prevent it, so it should regulate the industry.
“If it were up to me and I could wiggle my nose like ‘Bewitched,’ I would not have online gambling. We can’t (do that). We already have it in Wisconsin,” Vos said. “I would rather make sure that Wisconsinites have some sort of control over that.”
Tribes Pushed for Bill While Opposing Prediction Markets
The rise of sports prediction markets has given residents more opportunities to wager online. The state’s tribes supported the bill and have spoken out against prediction markets.
The Ho-Chunk Nation filed a lawsuit against Kalshi last year. The Indian Gaming Association, six other tribal organizations, and 16 tribes filed an amicus brief in support of the suit in January.
The tribes claim Kalshi is infringing on the tribal compacts that grant them exclusive rights to offer gambling in Wisconsin. The Ho-Chunk Nation runs six casinos in the state and has secured funding for a $705 million casino resort in Beloit, near the Illinois border.
“I really think this moment is about collective assertion of tribal sovereignty and the preservation of exclusivity that tribes have fought decades to establish,” said Senate Minority Leader Dianne Hesselbein.
Not Everyone Concurs With Tribal Exclusivity
Other lawmakers, however, opposed the bill due to its tribal exclusivity. Sen. Steve Nass called the vote a “dirty deal” and said, “as the campaigns proceed, follow the money.”
Commercial sportsbooks have also opposed the bill’s terms. Sports Betting Alliance (SBA) President Joe Maloney said the bill would give tribes an unfair monopoly over online sports betting in Wisconsin.
“The consumer sees a number of benefits in any competitive marketplace, and (that’s) certainly not exclusive to online sports wagering,” he said.
Despite this, Maloney admitted that SBA members would work with tribes to launch online platforms. The SBA includes FanDuel, DraftKings, BetMGM, Fanatics, and bet365.
“We work through tribal compacts and with tribes in certain states, and we’re happy to build upon that record in the state of Wisconsin,” Maloney said.
Both FanDuel and DraftKings have also grudgingly applied for licenses in Arkansas, which similarly requires companies to work with licensed casinos to launch platforms. The state does not have tribal exclusivity, but its commercial casinos must retain at least 51% of the net revenue generated by the mobile platform.
It is unclear if Wisconsin will have the same revenue-sharing agreement and whether the country’s leading sportsbooks will attempt to partner with tribes to launch in the state.
The companies have been increasingly focused on prediction markets, and SBA lobbyist R.J. Pirlot said if the bill is enacted, “no one should be surprised if they pursue prediction markets as an alternative.”
From July to December, SBA lobby groups spent more than $262,000 in efforts to kill the bill.
