Wisconsin Governor Undecided on Online Sports Betting Bill

• Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers (D) reported he has yet to make a decision on an approved online sports betting bill
• State leaders says he needs to first speak with tribal leaders that have not yet signed on to the bill
• No timeline for his decision

Gov. Tony Evers (D) is in no rush to make a decision on a recently approved Wisconsin online sports betting bill.

The Wisconsin Senate this week approved AB 601 by a 21-12 vote, allowing Wisconsin tribes to offer online sports betting through a hub-and-spoke system. The Wisconsin Assembly approved Rep. Tyler August’s (R-31) bill last month and the bill has been sent to Evers for his signature.

Gov. Evers, however, said he has no specific timeline in mind to make a decision on the piece of legislation.

Discussions With Tribes

According to WBAY, Gov. Evers reported he will speak with tribal leaders who have not yet signed off on the approved online sports betting bill before making his final decision on the legislation.

“I’ll have to take a look at what the bill actually says, but also talk to those people from whichever tribal nations haven’t signed on where they are at. And so, we’ll be doing some talking with tribal leaders, and hopefully we can get something done,” Gov. Evers said.

If signed into law, the state will 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.

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.

Tribes will have to renegotiate their 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.

Will Big Operators Flock to Wisconsin?

While tribes will have the ability to partner with companies such as FanDuel or DraftKings to use their online platforms, the bill’s revenue framework might make not be an attractive option for these companies to enter the state.

Any sports betting company operating in Wisconsin will be required to provide 60% of their revenues to their tribal partners.

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.

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.

However, in late February FanDuel and DraftKings both agreed to casino partnerships in Arkansas which will allow their entry into the state. Arkansas has a similar revenue framework as Wisconsin, which requires operators to provide 51% of their revenues to their casino partners. Their willingness to enter into Arkansas may also eventually lead to their entry into Wisconsin as well, which should prove to be a larger sports betting market than the Natural State.

The Arkansas Racing & Gaming Commission approved both FanDuel and DraftKings applications for sports betting vendor licenses, allowing FanDuel to partner with Oaklawn Racing Casino Resort and DraftKings with Southland Casino.

Both companies will act as vendors for the casinos and offer online sports betting on their behalf.