Wisconsin lawmakers revive online sports betting legislation, Assembly vote likely in next few weeks

Momentum is building in the Wisconsin Assembly for online sports betting legislation, though lawmakers acknowledge the proposal may stall without action from the state Senate.

Robin Vos, speaker of the Wisconsin State Assembly, said lawmakers are continuing work on a bipartisan bill that would legalize online sports betting in the state, with an Assembly vote expected within the next couple of months. The proposal was pulled from a potential vote in November but has since regained support in the lower chamber.

Vos said the legislation is designed to regulate activity he described in a December 30 interview with the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel as “already happening” in Wisconsin, with the goal of providing a transparent framework.

However, Vos and other lawmakers have indicated that progress in the Assembly does not guarantee movement in the state Senate, where it remains unclear whether the bill will be scheduled for a vote.

Under the proposal, Wisconsin’s federally recognized tribes would hold exclusive rights to operate online sports betting. All wagers would be required to pass through servers located on tribal land, a structure supporters say aligns with the state constitution.

Vos has said that if the bill reaches the desk of Tony Evers, the governor would be likely to sign it, provided it has tribal support. Several Democrats, including Evers, have stated their backing for the legislation under that condition.

Rep. David Steffen, R-Howard, addressed concerns over limiting online sports betting to tribal operators. “Some are concerned about this being an option that’s only available to the Native American tribes, and so I respect those, but for me, I think the value it provides in terms of revenue is substantial, and therefore it’s worth doing,” Steffen said.

The bill has faced resistance from national sports betting operators and legal advocacy groups. The Sports Betting Alliance, which represents giants DraftKings and FanDuel, opposed earlier versions of the proposal, citing challenges tied to a revenue structure that would allow tribes to retain 60% of sports betting proceeds.

Additional opposition has come from the Wisconsin Institute for Law and Liberty, which raised constitutional concerns in a memorandum. “If Wisconsin amends state law to create a betting monopoly for Indian tribes, it will create significant risks for all gaming in Wisconsin. Not only will the law itself be susceptible to challenge in federal court as an unconstitutional racial classification, but Wisconsin’s entire gaming apparatus—which also grants preferences based on race—would be challenged,” the group said.

Despite the objections, Assembly supporters say the proposal has sufficient backing to pass in that chamber. State Sen. Kristin Dassler-Alfheim, D-Appleton, said the lack of Senate action remains the primary obstacle. “The governor seems to be amenable, and the tribes are agreeable in wanting this to go forward. So again, the majority of the legislature thinks this should pass. There’s no excuse for the state Senate not to put it on the docket so we can vote on it as a caucus,” she said.