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Wisconsin Governor Tony Evers has begun discussions with leaders of the state’s 11 federally recognized tribes on implementing legal online sports betting, marking the next step toward launching statewide mobile wagering following the passage of enabling legislation.
The talks come after Evers signed Assembly Bill 601 into law in April, allowing online sports betting in Wisconsin. However, statewide mobile wagering cannot begin until tribal gaming compacts are renegotiated and approved by both the tribes and the state, as well as the U.S. Department of the Interior’s Bureau of Indian Affairs.
Wisconsin’s gaming industry operates under agreements between the state and tribal nations, making tribal participation central to the rollout of online betting.
The meeting ” was just the first of many conversations that will need to be had going forward as the state and the Tribes move toward compact negotiations,” Britt Cudaback, a spokeswoman for Evers, said.
Under the new law, sports bets can be placed anywhere within Wisconsin through mobile devices, provided the wagering transactions are processed through servers located on tribal lands. The legislation adopts a “hub and spoke” model, with tribal servers acting as hubs and bettors located across the state serving as spokes.
Evers has urged tribes to pursue a joint-venture structure that would allow all 11 federally recognized tribes to benefit equally from the new market.
“What I will not accept is a plan that fractures this opportunity into unequal pieces, allowing some Tribes to reap great benefits while leaving only crumbs for others,” Evers said when signing the legislation.
“An approach that exacerbates long-standing inequalities among Tribal Nations is not good for Wisconsinites or Wisconsin. I will not entertain it as governor,” he added.
According to the governor’s office, Evers supports a model in which tribes contribute and benefit “in equal shares,” while recognizing that tribal leaders ultimately determine what is best for their communities.
The governor’s office also noted that no governor can dictate how tribes structure an agreement or force them to adopt a particular model.
All 11 tribes supported the legislation and urged Evers to sign it, paving the way for negotiations on updated gaming compacts.
The discussions come as Evers prepares to leave office at the end of the year after deciding not to seek re-election. Failure to finalize new agreements before then could leave the process to Wisconsin’s next governor.
Wisconsin currently permits in-person sports betting at certain tribal casinos but does not allow statewide mobile wagering. Recent amendments to tribal gaming compacts enabled the Oneida Nation, Forest County Potawatomi and Ho-Chunk Nation to offer on-site sports betting.
Supporters of online wagering argue that a regulated market would provide consumers with legal alternatives to offshore sportsbooks, which operate outside U.S. regulatory oversight and are not subject to Wisconsin’s consumer protection and responsible gaming requirements.
Not everyone supports expanding gambling in the state. Republican U.S. Representative Tom Tiffany said he opposes broader gaming expansion in Wisconsin.
Tiffany said he does not support “an expansion of gaming in Wisconsin.”
“For example, like the Kenosha casino that’s been proposed, I do not support that. So I believe we should not expand gaming,” Tiffany said.
Asked specifically about the online betting legislation, Tiffany said: “I would have to review the details of that a little bit more … to give you a definitive answer, but generally I’ve been opposed to expanding gaming here in Wisconsin.”