(The Center Square) – An Assembly vote is expected to come early this year on a bill to allow online sports wagering in Wisconsin but it’s less certain when the full Senate will take up the bill.
Both Assembly Speaker Robin Vos, R-Rochester, and Majority Leader Tyler August, R-Walworth, a bill sponsor, told media outlets they expect to hold a vote on the bill that was pulled from the Assembly calendar late last year.
The proposal would change the state’s definition of “bet” to allow the state’s tribes to offer mobile sports wagering if the bettor is in Wisconsin and the sportsbook servers are on tribal land, an amendment to current compacts allowing for casino gambling and sports wagering on tribal lands despite the state’s ban on betting.
“This legislation is really about allowing Wisconsin tribes to enter the same marketplace and compete,” August told Spectrum News.
August did not expand on what hang-ups led to the vote delay in November and his staff did not respond to interview requests or questions on what amendments could be coming to the bill.
“There’s really no rush on this,” August said in November. “… I had a conversation with a couple members over the weekend that brought up some points that I hadn’t considered yet, so we’re going to work through those and I expect that we will be voting on it early next year.”
Since the delay, both Fanatics and DraftKings have opened prediction markets in the state and FanDuel could be next.
Kalshi already had a prediction market related to sports in the state and is facing a lawsuit from the Ho-Chunk Nation that a national coalition of tribes recently joined.
August previously cited prediction markets as a “gray area” in state law as entities that are not subject to state laws or state taxes.
“Along with offshore, there’s also what are called prediction markets, a handful of which have already launched in Wisconsin,” August told Spectrum News. “These are extremely similar to online gaming. They’re regulated at the federal government level and so, these things are already happening and, unfortunately, or tribal partners aren’t able to participate in it right now.”
If passed, the bill would need to then be approved by the Senate and signed by Gov. Tony Evers, who has indicated he would support the bill.
Then Evers’ Administration would have to reach compacts with the tribes on topics such as state revenue share, which would then be subject to federal approval before legal sports wagering can launch.
“If you are a Republican who doesn’t necessarily trust Tony Evers on this, or if you are a Democrat who doesn’t necessarily trust Donald Trump on this, the good news is they actually both have to agree that this is the right way to do things here in Wisconsin and I’m confident that we can come to that sort of agreement,” August said.
Sen. Chris Kapenga, R-Delafield, is one lawmaker who opposes the expansion of sports wagering in Wisconsin beyond the current in-person allowances on tribal land. He said he will vote “No” on the bill if it reaches the Senate floor.
Kapenga wrote in a recent newsletter that legislative offices “got slammed with emails urging opposition” before the Assembly vote delay. He compared the arguments saying that sports wagering is already happening in the state to the arguments supporting the legalization of marijuana.
“Besides the dangers of gambling addiction and its social costs, I’m not a fan of funneling more money to one party that holds a monopoly on sports wagering in Wisconsin,” Kapenga wrote. “The Governor has expressed support for this proposal and has tremendous power over its outcome. I certainly wouldn’t want to bet the house on him doing the right thing, and I will be watching to see if this topic picks up steam in January.”
