Will 2026 see Wisconsin as the next state to legalize online sports betting? State lawmakers are convinced that they have the votes to make it happen.
The Wisconsin State Assembly will reconvene on January 13, and the resumption of discussion on the legalization of online sports betting in the state will be prominent on the agenda.
“It’s already happening,” State Assembly Speaker Robin Vos
told the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel. “So I guess if we already have it, I would rather say that if we’re going to have it in Wisconsin, it can be regulated in a way that’s more transparent.”
State lawmakers believed they had the necessary votes to legalize regulated online sports betting in the state last November. However, progress stalled, and the vote was postponed.
Wisconsin lawmakers still have concerns about online sports betting
If online sports betting legalization is to occur this year in Wisconsin, several issues must be addressed first. Problem gambling and microbetting are elements of the industry that worry lawmakers in the state. Opponents of the plan don’t like the idea that online sports betting will be offered exclusively through the state’s tribes.
“I do think there are legitimate concerns, and that’s why we’re trying to look at and address everybody’s concerns,” Vos said. “I have concerns with problem gambling as well. But I don’t think having it only on the internet or only in a bar or restaurant after hours makes any sense, so we have to just talk through that.”
Governor Tony Evers is expected to sign the bill into law if it gets to his desk.
Here’s how online sports betting would work in Wisconsin
If the vote does go in favor of the legalization of online sports betting and Evers signs the bill into law, this is how online sports betting will operate in the state.
The state’s tribes would be put in charge of the operation of all Wisconsin sports betting. In Wisconsin, the state Constitution requires that any gambling must be under the management of the state’s federally recognized Native American tribes.
Retail sports betting has been legal in Wisconsin since 2021, but all bets must be placed in person at tribal casinos.
If legalization is rubber-stamped, every server for the online sports betting product must be physically located on tribal land in the state. It’s similar to the method through which online sports betting operates in Florida. Florida’s government operates online sports betting in partnership with the Seminole Tribe.
Wisconsin tribes, like the Ho-Chunk Nation and the Forest County Potawatomi Community, are in favor of this model. The Metropolitan Milwaukee Association of Commerce and each of the state’s major professional teams also support this model.
However, the plan has come under criticism from the major online sportsbooks operating in the US market.
“That’s the way it is,” Vos said of the plan to give the state’s tribes control of online sports betting. “We can’t fix that.
“That’s why some people just have to accept where we are, or at least talk about it.”
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