(The Center Square) – Mobile sports wagering across Wisconsin took another step forward on Wednesday when a bill allowing the state’s tribes to take wagers anywhere in the state passed the Assembly Committee on State Affairs.
Rep. Robert Wittke, R-Caledonia, noted testimony from Sports Betting Alliance Counsel Damon Stewart, who said that a requirement that 60% of the gross revenue from mobile sports wagering under the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act would be too high of a cost for top national brands such as DraftKings, FanDuel, BetMGM, Fanatics and Bet365.
“I think our citizens in Wisconsin are better served by keeping this new platform within our current gambling structure,” Wittke said.
The argument against that is by limiting which operators can offer wagers in the state, the most competitive promos, lines and technology as well as the widest variety of wagering options, such as prop bets, won’t always be available.
“While we support the goal of legal online sports betting in Wisconsin, this bill will only result in limited choices for consumers with no national brands, no chance for all Wisconsin tribes to actively participate in the market, no ability to make a dent in the illegal market that already exists in the state, and years of litigation that will hold up implementation of legal sports betting in Wisconsin,” Stewart wrote in his testimony.
The proposal would create a technical exception to the term “bet” in Wisconsin law by not counting mobile sports wagers that were conducted through a sportsbook with servers located on tribal land as one of those banned “bets.”
The Wisconsin Institute for Law and Liberty issued a memo on the bills Tuesday, saying it believes the laws are unlawful and explained the reasoning, starting with a state law that the Legislature cannot pass a law to allow for gambling in the state and because IGRA prevents creating a tribal gambling monopoly off reservation.
The memo also says the 14th Amendment prevents creating a race-based monopoly like the tribal gaming approval.
“These legal issues are significant,” the WILL memo says. “In our view, if passed, these bills would likely be struck down. Furthermore, litigation over these bills would result in intense judicial scrutiny of Wisconsin’s entire gambling apparatus, not just the subject matter presented by these bills.”
Jeff Crawford, attorney general for the Forest County Potawatomi Community, noted during testimony at a public hearing that the Milwaukee Brewers, Milwaukee Bucks and Green Bay Packers are supportive of Wisconsin expanding its tribe-based mobile sports wagering statewide.
He said that the tribes take offense that SBA insinuated that the tribes could not properly handle the technology of statewide mobile sports wagering.
Crawford said that estimates show there were $150 million in offshore or illegal sports wagers placed by Wisconsin consumers in 2018, that exploded to $1 billion worth in 2024 and it is projected to only expand from there.
