Rep. Tyler August believes that if Wisconsin continues to drag its feet on sports gambling, the state will create a vacuum that would be filled by companies that are not necessarily regulated, such as prediction markets apps.
Prediction Markets Could Be Gunning for Wisconsin’s Online Sports Betting Vacuum
AB 601 seeks to expand the existing gambling framework and allow the 11 tribes to also offer online sports betting anywhere in the state. In a statement commenting on the bill’s potential and why the time was now, not later, Rep. August said:
“If we leave a gray area in state law, national prediction platforms will fill it without our compact framework, Wisconsin oversight, or Wisconsin consumer safeguards. AB 601 does the opposite: it channels activity into a regulated, Wisconsin-based, compacted environment with clear jurisdiction and accountability. This protects consumers, respects tribal sovereignty, and keeps revenue tied to Wisconsin operations rather than flowing to unaligned national apps.”
To pass, the bill would need to be approved by the House of Representatives, followed by a nod from the Senate, and finally delivered to Gov. Tony Evers’ desk, who will also have to approve the expansion.
The bill uses familiar language from other similar proposals around the nation, with the tribes hosting the servers for online sports gambling on their sovereign land, expediting the legality behind it. The tribes are on board, as the extra money could be plowed back into their communities.
More importantly, argues Rep. August, if Wisconsin is to sit this one out and do nothing, the state would still end up with betting of sorts – prediction markets. In the meantime, people still turn to unlicensed offshore operators to place a flutter online.
Rep. August, however, is very much aware of the ongoing threat from the prediction markets vertical, and has said:
“While we debate a narrow clarification that keeps wagering inside Wisconsin’s compact system, large national platforms are racing to roll out ‘prediction market’ apps that let users trade real-money contracts on sports, politics, and economic data.”
But as Wisconsin is debating whether to launch online sports gambling markets, there are some mainstream operators who are also diverging into this new market, despite the legal challenges that have accompanied it.
Prediction Markets Are Being Embraced by Mainstream Operators
FanDuel and DraftKings have announced that they are collectively leaving the American Gaming Association because of disagreement with the trade group’s stance on prediction markets.
FanDuel is due to launch a prediction market platform in December, called FanDuel Predicts, but it’s notably going to focus on offering such options only in markets that haven’t regulated sports gambling just yet.