(The Center Square) – Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers signed a bill Thursday that will legalize online sports wagering in the state.
Evers will now negotiate compacts with Wisconsin’s 11 tribes to send revenue from gaming from the tribes to the state. Those compacts must be approved by the federal government.
Evers framed the bill signing as “the beginning of a conversation, not the end of one” and vowed to come up with agreements that benefit all of the state’s tribes.
“I have heard from each of the 11 affected Tribes that this bill offers an opportunity for their governments and for their people to improve the quality of life, health, and stability of their communities,” Evers wrote in a statement. “As governor, I am responsible for ensuring the state of Wisconsin upholds Tribal treaty rights and appropriately respects Tribal sovereignty in Wisconsin.
“Most importantly, this means respecting every Tribal Nation’s right to do what is best for its people. I do so today as I always promised I would, but I am not without reservations about signing this bill.”
The proposal changes 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.
“This is an opportunity to avoid the mistakes of past compact amendments that left some Tribes and their members in poverty while only lifting up a few,” Evers wrote. “It is further my expectation that we look beyond mere dollar signs and economics and insist these decisions also be guided by respect, humility, compassion and solidarity.”
The law received opposition from large national sports wagering companies like DraftKings, FanDuel, BetMGM, Fanatics and Bet365 through the Sports Betting Alliance because those groups believe the agreement will keep them out of Wisconsin sports wagering in favor of the tribes and partnering with the tribes would result in deals that would not cover the large sportsbook’s expenses.
“Wisconsin voters definitely want to have a say in this policy and they haven’t gotten that opportunity,” SBA President/CEO Joe Maloney said previously.
Maloney said the law would create a monopoly rather than a competitive market between sportsbooks that would give users the best options.
The Wisconsin Institute for Law and Liberty has said it believes the sports wagering bill is 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 the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act prevents creating a tribal gambling monopoly off reservation.
