Wisconsin lawmakers have taken a serious step toward legalizing statewide online sports betting.
The Badger State’s Assembly voted Thursday to pass, without debate and on a voice vote, A.B. 601, legislation that would make a small but significant tweak to authorize mobile sports wagering via Native American gaming tribes.
- The Wisconsin Assembly passed A.B. 601 to allow statewide mobile sports betting through Native American tribes, sending the bill to the state Senate.
- The proposal would legalize online wagers placed in Wisconsin if processed on tribal lands under existing gaming compacts, though updated agreements and federal approval would still be required.
- The tribal revenue model, which would grant tribes 60 percent of proceeds, has drawn criticism from representatives of major sportsbook operators who say it could keep national brands out of the state.
Lawmakers had put a rush order on A.B. 601 as well. An Assembly resolution was adopted on Wednesday that teed up the sports betting bill for its vote the following day, along with other pieces of legislation.
Thursday’s vote follows the postponement of a previously expected vote on the bill late last year, which was purportedly caused by unspecified concerns among lawmakers.
A.B. 601 will now head to the Senate, which was already considering similar legislation and could now pass the Assembly version and send it to the desk of Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers to be signed into law.
That's our model and we're sticking to it
Still, the Assembly’s eventual approval on Thursday shows that many Wisconsin lawmakers are committed to the legalization of statewide mobile wagering, and using a model that has been criticized by representatives of big betting brands.
A.B. 601 would permit online sports betting in Wisconsin through Native American tribes that have gaming compact agreements with the state. Updated gaming compacts between the tribes and the state would still need to be agreed to and then approved by the federal government before any launch could occur.
A Wisconsin Senate committee heard testimony today on a bill connected to possible legalization of statewide online sports betting via Native American gaming tribes. Some industry opposition emerged, more to come, but a bit of background here:
— Geoff Zochodne (@GeoffZochodne) November 4, 2025
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“Under current law, it is a Class B misdemeanor to make a bet,” an analysis by Wisconsin’s Legislative Reference Bureau explains. “This bill excludes from the definition of ‘bet’ an event or sports wager made by a person physically located in this state using a mobile or other electronic device if the server or other device used to conduct such event or sports wager is physically located on a federally recognized American Indian tribe’s Indian lands and if the event or sports wager is conducted pursuant to a compact between a tribe and this state under the federal Indian Gaming Regulatory Act of 1988 that was originally entered into prior to April 1, 1993.”
The legislation was amended at the committee level, then approved at the Assembly level, to clarify that the "lands" where the servers are located must be in Wisconsin and that wagers will be "deemed" to take place where the servers are physically located. This is similar to the model for online sports betting in Florida, which is controlled by the state's Seminole Tribe.
However, it’s possible the framework sidelines major online sportsbook operators such as DraftKings and FanDuel. By going this route, tribes would retain at least 60% of the revenue generated, which may not be enough to make it worth the while of nationwide bookmakers.
“Online sports betting is a low-margin, capital-intensive business,” said lobbyist Damon Stewart, on behalf of the Sports Betting Alliance, during a committee meeting last year. “It is simply not economically feasible for a commercial operator to hand over 60% to the in-state entity just for the right to operate in the state. That is why Wisconsin adults would not be able to use the national brands they see advertised on national TV every day.”
Nevertheless, while the big brands may not like what’s happening in Wisconsin, the state’s Native American tribes are likely happy enough. It’s through those tribes that Wisconsinites have access to state-regulated sports betting at all right now, either by wagering in-person at casinos or using apps that accept bets on tribal lands.
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SGP-related self-sufficiency
Tribes were also offended by what representatives of the major online sportsbook operators have been saying about the proposed statewide mobile wagering model. Moreover, there are tribes that feel very capable of launching online sportsbooks of their own in Wisconsin.
"It would allow the nation, and other tribes, to tap into a new revenue source that can be used to support tribal governmental functions, sustain self-sufficiency, and assist with meeting the needs of tribal members," Edward Mullen, an elected representative of Wisconsin's casino-operating Ho-Chunk Nation, told a state Senate committee in November.
With all that said, there is still online sports betting happening all over Wisconsin. It’s just being offered by unauthorized bookmakers or by federally regulated prediction markets, which continue to disrupt the state-regulated status quo for gambling across the U.S.
More to come.
