Wisconsin Governor Signs Tribal Online Betting Bill into Law

Wisconsin has officially become the next state to embrace online sports betting, although the actual market launch is still months away. Under the local framework, the state’s tribes will be allowed to offer online wagers, in line with the existing tribal-oriented gambling framework.

Wisconsin Legalizes Online Betting to Counter Prediction Markets

Last year, lawmakers in Wisconsin submitted Assembly Bill 601, proposing to regulate online sports betting in the state. For context, the state currently allows tribal casino gaming and sports betting, but online wagering has remained illegal.

Bill supporter Rep. Tyler August argued that adopting the vertical was necessary to protect the local economy from illegal gaming, gray area products, and the divisive prediction market platforms, which operate at a national scale.

For context, prediction markets, as CFTC-regulated products, can tap into all 50 states, unlike sportsbooks, which need to follow stringent local regulatory frameworks. This has effectively allowed players in states where online betting is not legal to wager on sports.

Governor Tony Evers seems to have heeded the warning as he just signed AB 601 into law, ensuring that legal online sports betting will happen.

Evers Wants All Tribes to Work Together

Per AB 601, Wisconsin tribes will be allowed to add online sports betting to their lineup, allowing them to compete with the black market and prediction market platforms. Since the law only allows tribal entities to offer the practice, online sports betting servers will have to be located on tribal land, mirroring the Florida model.

Governor Evers emphasized that the legalization seeks to encourage the state’s 11 tribes to work together and end the inequalities among them. For context, Evers had previously stated that he would only support the law if all tribes were on the same page. While this wasn’t the case initially, the governor confirmed that all tribes are now negotiating the matter.

Per the Wisconsin tribal compacts, tribes return a portion of the gambling proceeds to the state. This will remain the case for online sports betting, ensuring extra funding that will be used for a variety of mental health and opioid addiction treatment initiatives.