The biggest players in online sports betting in the U.S. have some issues with the bid to legalize statewide mobile wagering in Wisconsin.
- Major online sportsbooks like DraftKings and FanDuel oppose Wisconsin’s proposed statewide mobile betting plan, partly because it requires them to give at least 60% of revenue to tribal partners.
- The Sports Betting Alliance warned that its members would likely avoid operating in Wisconsin under the currently proposed model, leaving the market to lesser-known brands.
A representative of the Sports Betting Alliance, the members of which are bet365, BetMGM, DraftKings, Fanatics, and FanDuel, testified to a Wisconsin Senate committee on Tuesday and relayed the industry group’s concerns about an online sports betting-related piece of legislation.
In short, while the SBA is supportive of legalizing and regulating online sports betting in Wisconsin, which already has legal sports betting on Native American lands, it doesn’t like what’s being proposed for statewide mobile wagering.
Ratcheting up the intensity
That proposed vision would be conducted by and through tribes using federally approved gaming compacts provided for under the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act (IGRA). The same act, to the SBA’s chagrin, would require service providers like DraftKings or FanDuel to hand over at least 60% of the revenue they generate in Wisconsin to their partner tribe.
“Online sports betting is a low-margin, capital-intensive business,” said lobbyist Damon Stewart, on behalf of the SBA, during Tuesday’s meeting. “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.”
This is not “hypothetical” either, Stewart added, noting similar revenue-sharing requirements in Arkansas and Florida. SBA members do not offer online sports wagering in those states.
In other words, the biggest names in online sports betting in the U.S. are warning that they would not participate in mobile sports betting in Wisconsin under the currently proposed model. This could leave Wisconsin’s gaming tribes and bettors with brands that may not be as well-known as DraftKings or FanDuel.
OK, so key takeaway from today’s now-reconnected hearing on statewide online sports betting in Wisconsin is that the big boys don’t think they can participate with the Arkansas and Florida-like revenue-sharing they’d have to accept (bulk of it to tribes). More to come, probably.
— Geoff Zochodne (@GeoffZochodne) November 4, 2025
With that said, there is support for the model the SBA does not want.
A bipartisan group of lawmakers in the Wisconsin legislature is backing the proposed mobile wagering structure, which could avoid running afoul of the state constitution’s restrictions on authorizing further gambling activities. There is also support from the NFL's Green Bay Packers, MLB's Milwaukee Brewers, and the NBA's Milwaukee Bucks, the Senate agriculture and revenue committee heard on Tuesday.
Wisconsin’s gaming tribes are looking for additional revenue as well, which could be used to fund programs and services in their communities. Edward Mullen, an elected representative of Wisconsin's casino-operating Ho-Chunk Nation, told the Senate committee on Tuesday that they are "highly capable" of conducting mobile sports betting.
"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," Mullen said.
It's already happening
Furthermore, Wisconsin bettors are already using online sportsbooks based offshore, using the sweepstakes model, or in the form of federally regulated prediction markets.
“Based on some of the data that we've seen, this is an activity that's not declining,” Republican Sen. Howard Marklein, a sponsor of the online sports betting bill, told the Senate agriculture and revenue committee. “It's increasing. And I think that it's appropriate for us to deal with this now, before it gets even bigger.”
Legislation is only one step toward statewide mobile wagering. The bill being referenced on Tuesday, Senate Bill 592, would really just set the stage for statewide mobile sports betting. Also needed are amended state-tribe gaming compacts that would require federal approval. No vote was taken on SB 592 on Tuesday either.
“So the passing of this bill … and getting this bill signed is the first step,” Marklein said.
