by
Last month, AB 601 passed the House and Senate of Wisconsin. The bill would expand sports betting in Wisconsin drastically.
Since 2021, Wisconsin has had legalized sports betting — but with restrictions. Heavy restrictions. Bets could only be had at physical casinos owned by state tribes.
AB 601, however, would open the door to online sports betting. And we mean fully open too. Wisconsin locals would be able to bet on sports anywhere inside the state, not just on tribal land.
But… there was no guarantee Wisconsin Governor Tony Evers would sign the bill. Matter of fact, he dragged his feet for a month until finally deciding YES on April 9. Keep reading for more details on the landmark decision.
Evers Hesitates To Expand Sports Betting
Like we said, the bill has been waiting to be signed for about a month now. So what exactly was the holdup? Well, Evers adressed that when he signed the bill. When he did so, he raised some concerns about getting a system in place that would benefit all the tribes in the state. Here’s what he said when signing the bill into law:
“(My) obligation as governor is always to respect the sovereignty of Tribal Nations in Wisconsin… 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… this legislation is the beginning of a conversation, not the end of one. The real work begins today. Each of the 11 Tribes must now work diligently and together to shape the future of sports betting in Wisconsin.”
You see, there are 11 tribes in Wisconsin who will stand to benefit from this move — if done right, as Evers cautions. He doesn’t want a system that mostly benefits the bigger tribes, who have may money to throw around. That’s happened in other states across the country, and Evers doesn’t want the same for Wisconsin.
“What I will not accept is a plan that fractures this opportunity into unequal pieces, allowing some Tribes to reap great benefits while leaving only crumbs for others,” Evers wrote. “An approach that exacerbates long-standing inequalities among Tribal Nations is not good for Wisconsinites or Wisconsin. I will not entertain it as governor.”
What Exactly Does AB 601 Do?
Alright, let’s backtrack here and fully explain just how sports betting is changing. It’s not so much that sports betting apps will be allowed to exist on the state now. The bigger part of the story is they are fully accessible.
In the majority of states where tribes have a monopoly on a state sports betting industry, if online gambling is allowed, it has to be done on tribal land. Matter of fact, that’s a federal law as part of the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act (IGRA).
But… there is a workaround, one made famous by Florida’s sports betting industry. The single tribe down there, the Seminoles, popularized a “hub and spoke” model. The Seminoles set up online betting servers in tribal land, thus anyone betting through an app, technically syncs with those servers. That allows Florida residents to make sports betting anywhere and everywhere in the state.
This model came with a lot of controversy and lawsuits. However, the Supreme Court — the highest of all courts — ruled it legal in 2024. So it’s allowed anywhere.
AB 601 makes way for Wisconsin tribes to do the same. It did so by changing the legal definition of a “bet” to allow for mobile wagers as long as the server processing it is on tribal land — the hub and spoke model to a tee.
Wisconsin Tribes Largely Supported This Expansion
Before Evers signed the bill, eight of the 11 tribal states in Wisconsin sent him a letter. In the letter, tribes said they supported AB 601 and encouraged Evers to make it a reality.
”Our nations share a collective mission of working to strengthen tribal sovereignty, maintaining the tribal nations’ role as the primary operators and regulators of gaming in Wisconsin, and accomplishing a framework with mobile sports betting that benefits all Wisconsin tribes,” the letter said.
These were the eight tribes that came out in favor of it:
- Bad River Band of Lake Superior Chippewa Indians
- Forest County Potawatomi Community
- Ho-Chunk Nation
- La Courte Oreilles Band of Lake Superior Chippewa Indians
- Red Cliff Band of Lake Superior Chippewa Indians
- Sokaogon Chippewa Community
- St. Croix Chippewa Indians
- Strockbridge-Munsee Community Band of Mohican Indians
You have to believe these tribes are grinning ear to ear now that Evers put ink into the bill. But you know who’s probably not as happy? Popular sports betting apps like DraftKings or BetMGM.
Under the federal IRGA we mentioned before, 60 percent of tribally operated gross gaming revenue must go back to the tribes. That’s a massive revenue split that makes the costs of doing business way too high for traditional betting apps. There’s just no profit to be made with that cut.
Now we wait to see how the tribes finalize this system. The bill gives them the right to move forward, but as Evers said, they need to create something equally beneficial for all 11 parties — something that might be easier said than done. We’ll keep you posted on this major story as it develops so keep checking back with us.
Online betting sites 