(The Center Square) – The Wisconsin Senate is scheduled to vote on both a sports wagering bill and a University of Wisconsin name, image and likeness bill Tuesday in its final meeting of the session, set to begin at 11 a.m.
The session could include decisions on up to 113 bills.
Gov. Tony Evers has voiced support for the sports wagering bill and both bills would head to Evers’ desk if approved by the Senate on Tuesday.
The NIL bill has received opposition as it proposes to send $15 million annually to the Universities of Wisconsin for athletics facilities while it also includes a sweeping public records exemption that includes all spending and revenue for the athletics department.
The sports wagering bill has gathered opposition as it creates an opening for the state’s tribes to offer mobile sports wagering across the state.
The bill passed the Assembly on a voice vote.
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.
The law would allow for a similar sports wagering model as Florida, where the state’s sportsbook operators have servers on federally recognized tribal lands while users can be in the state of Wisconsin.
The proposal cites the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2024 decision not to hear a challenge to the sports wagering pact between Florida and the Seminole tribe of the hub-and-spoke sports wagering model.
Wisconsin receives payments that are a portion of the net win from tribal casinos but does not separately report sports wagering payments.
In 2024, the state received more than $66 million in shared revenue payments with nearly $66 million in 2023 and nearly $57 million in 2022.
Sports wagering is legal in 39 states with 31 allowing mobile sports wagering.
