The legalization of statewide mobile sports betting is nigh in Wisconsin, but the proposed structure and the bipartisan way in which the legislation is advancing could be sticking points.
- Wisconsin lawmakers are advancing Assembly Bill 601 with bipartisan support to allow Native American tribes to offer statewide mobile sports betting.
- The bill would expand betting beyond tribal lands but still requires renegotiated compacts and federal approval before implementation.
- Major betting companies and some lawmakers oppose the measure due to revenue concerns and a somewhat unusual bipartisan process in which it may pass.
Assembly Bill 601, which passed that chamber in February, is being teed up for another vote Tuesday in the Wisconsin Senate.
From the sounds of it, there could be bipartisan support to pass the bill.
“We have been clear since the beginning of the session that when we can work together, we will,” said Democratic Sen. Dianne Hesselbein, the minority leader in the chamber, during a press conference on Tuesday morning. “And I believe that we will be able to help get that through today.”
A.B. 601 would make a small but significant tweak to Wisconsin law. That tweak would enable Native American tribes in the state to offer statewide mobile sports wagering.
While the tribes would still need to renegotiate their gambling-related agreements with the state, and those compacts would need to be approved by the federal government, it would be a major step toward authorizing a statewide mobile version of Wisconsin sports betting.
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
Wisconsin does have legal sports betting at the moment, but it is confined to the casinos and lands of its Native American tribes. A.B. 601 would allow for wagering anywhere in the state, albeit still via the tribes.
The passage of the bill comes while there is already a form of statewide mobile sports betting happening in Wisconsin through federally regulated prediction markets. The exchanges are facilitating wagering on sports all over the U.S., especially in states that lack statewide mobile betting.
A.B. 601 would allow tribes and their partners to expand their gaming operations in Wisconsin and compete for that business. Supporters have argued the legislation would allow the state to channel hundreds of millions of dollars in illegal wagering into a regulated system.
Not our cup of OSB
However, not everyone loves the Wisconsin legislation. Not everyone loves the way it may be passed in the legislature, either.
Big sports betting brands such as DraftKings and FanDuel have opposed the proposed structure because it would require the bulk of revenue generated by mobile sports wagering to stay with the tribes. This, the operators say, would leave them sidelined in Wisconsin and potentially limit the size of the new legal market.
Meanwhile, some state lawmakers may be concerned about the bipartisan way in which A.B. 601 could be passed by the Senate, which has an 18-15 Republican majority.
Bit of #breaking Badger State news:
— Geoff Zochodne (@GeoffZochodne) February 19, 2026
Wisconsin Assembly Passes Tribe-Controlled Online Sports Betting Bill https://t.co/QabHON1enr@Covers
One Republican state senator recently warned against passing the online sports betting bill without at least 17 GOP members voting in favor, which may be what happens.
Time is of the essence as well. Hesselbein said Senate Republicans had indicated that Tuesday would be the last working day of the year for the chamber.
Furthermore, Democratic Gov. Tony Evers, who has authorized in-person sports betting offered by the tribes, is not running for re-election this fall.
While Hesselbein said she’d received no indication as to whether Evers would sign A.B. 601 into law, she was optimistic that the Evers administration would be able to renegotiate satisfactory compacts with tribes.
“We are hopeful that there is enough time for the governor and his team to do that,” the Senate minority leader said.
