Wisconsin Assembly Passes Tribal Online Sports Betting Bill

• The Wisconsin House of Representatives passed Rep. Tyler August’s (R-31) tribal-controlled online sports betting bill
• The legislation now heads to the Wisconsin Senate for consideration
• The bill was originally scheduled for a floor vote in November

The Wisconsin Assembly voted to approve a bill to allow state tribes to offer online sports betting through a hub-and-spoke system, after originally scheduling the legislation vote this past November.

The Wisconsin Assembly approved Rep. Tyler August’s (R-31) bill, AB 601, through a voice vote on Thursday afternoon. While several assembly members raised objections to the legislation, no debate or testimony was heard on the floor.

Assembly Majority Leader August’s Wisconsin online sports betting bill now heads to the Senate for consideration.

Tribal Controlled Online Sports Betting

The vote came nearly three months after it was originally scheduled for a floor vote in November. Assembly leaders reported at the time that more discussion was necessary on the bill, but expected it to be brought up again “in early 2026.”

If approved by the Senate and signed into law by Gov. Tony Evers (D), the bill will allow tribes to renegotiate gaming compacts to offer online sports betting through their own platforms or through partnerships with sports betting companies. The renegotiated compacts will have to be approved by the federal government.

Tribes will be able to partner with sports betting companies, such as FanDuel or DraftKings, to offer their online sports betting platforms to users in the state. Tribes will have to include the partners in their renegotiated gaming compacts.

The state would allow tribes to offer online sports betting through a “hub-and-spoke system,” which is is the same methodology used by the Seminole Tribe to legalize online sports betting in Florida. The tribe began offering online sports betting in the state in 2021, arguing that since its servers were located on its tribal land, any bet placed in the state and processed through the device were technically made on tribal land.

The decision set off several years of legal battles between the tribes and a number of detractors, eventually finding itself in front of the U.S. Supreme Court. The Supreme Court eventually denied a hearing in June 2024, preserving several state and federal legal victories from the Seminole Tribe and allowing online sports betting to continue in the state.

The Wisconsin bill will legalize online sports betting through the same “hub-and-spoke” model as the Seminole Tribe. As long as a Wisconsin tribe has an approved gaming compact with the U.S. Department of the Interior that allows sports betting, and processes sports bets through a server on its tribal land, online sports betting will be legal.

Legislation May Not Be Inviting For Top Sports Betting Companies

Under its current revenue framework, the Wisconsin online sports betting bill may not provide an appealing market for most of the top sports betting operators in the country.

During a public hearing for the bill this past fall, Damon Stewart, counsel for the Sports Betting Alliance, reported if Wisconsin legalizes online sports betting through the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act (IGRA) and the proposed hub-and-spoke model, the market will not be economically viable for operators to enter.

Wisconsin’s pathway to legalization would be similar to Florida, which will require sports betting operators to provide 60% of their revenues to their tribal partners.

However, if not by this legalization method, Wisconsin voters would have to agree to amend its constitution (after two consecutive legislative votes to do so). It would likely be a more difficult path to legalization than what is currently being proposed and would threaten Wisconsin Tribes’ gaming exclusivity.

Stewart, speaking on behalf of the Sports Betting Alliance, said major sports betting operators likely would not participate in Wisconsin’s sports betting market if required to provide the majority of revenues to their tribal partners.