Wisconsin Voters Not Keen on Legalizing Online Sports Gambling

Wisconsin is still holding out insofar as online sports betting is concerned, and there is little new evidence to suggest that this may change in the foreseeable future.

With a population of about 6 million people, the Badger State is hardly a minnow by geographical standards and would be a good target for sports betting interests.

Wisconsin’s Residents Still See Online Sports Gambling as a Non-Starter

Locally, though, opposition towards online sports betting persists, although tribal compacts have allowed some betting to take place in-person. 

The idea of expanding beyond that has been met with opposition, according to a new Marquette University poll, which interviewed 818 registered voters, with 64% opposing the legalization of online sports betting, and only 34% supporting it.

Interestingly, both Democrats and Republicans exhibited the same opposition levels, at 66% and 61% respectively. This survey comes in time for an expected meeting between lawmakers today, March 3, to discuss a tribal bill seeking to legalize online sports in the state.

Enjoying bipartisan support, the bill may yet advance out of the Senate before the session’s end in March. The bill would seek to allow Wisconsin’s 11 tribes to expand into online gambling.

Giving tribal operators exclusivity, however, has been met with opposition by private businesses. 

Tribal Gaming Bill Not to Everyone’s Liking

The Sports Betting Alliance, representing FanDuel and DraftKings, has issued an opposition to the bill, with the alliance’s president, Joe Maloney, objecting specifically:

“Voters aren’t uniformly opposed to online sports wagering, but seemingly strongly opposed to granting exclusive control to some tribal nations and limits and competition, and even bypassing direct voter approval.” 

Nicole Boyd, chairwoman of the Red Cliff Band of Lake Superior Chippewa Indians, however, has said that the state would only benefit from passing this bill in the first place, pointing out increased revenue through the established state gaming compacts.