Wisconsin lawmakers are heading into the 2026 legislative session still hard at work on a bill to legalise online sports betting.
Assembly Speaker Robin Vos told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel last week that lawmakers are working on a bipartisan online sports betting bill. Vos said he does expect the issue to receive a vote in the Assembly. The Wisconsin Legislature convenes 13 January.
“It’s already happening,” Vos told the Journal Sentinel. “So, I guess if we already have it, I would rather say that if we’re going to have it in Wisconsin, it can be regulated in a way that’s more transparent.
“But I do think there are legitimate concerns, and that’s why we’re trying to look and address everybody’s concerns.”
Assembly members pulled an online sports betting bill right before a scheduled November vote because of concerns voiced by some lawmakers.
“There’s really no rush on this,” Assembly Majority Leader Tyler August said at a news conference in November. “I had a conversation with a couple of members over the weekend that brought up some points that I hadn’t considered yet, so we’re going to work through those and I expect that we will be voting on it early next year.”
Governor Tony Evers has indicated he would sign sports betting legislation as long as it has the support of the state’s tribes. They already operate in-person sportsbooks at Wisconsin casinos as a result of a 2021 compact amendment, and the proposed legislation would allow online betting.
Wisconsin sports betting concerns
Vos said a regulated market would be preferable to offshore sportsbooks and prediction markets. Wisconsin’s Ho-Chunk Nation has sued Kalshi, accusing it of offering illegal sports betting through prediction markets.
Among the concerns lawmakers are working through in developing legislation are:
- Microbetting
- Problem gambling
- Tribal exclusivity
While Vos said some residents and lawmakers do not like the tribal exclusivity aspect, he said that state-tribal compacts are a reality. During a hearing in November, the Sports Betting Alliance — made up of major commercial operators — asked lawmakers to reconsider the tribal exclusive framework.
“That’s the way it is. We can’t fix that,” Vos said. “That’s why some people just have to accept where we are or at least talk about it. I have concerns about problem gambling as well, but I don’t think having it only on the internet or only in a bar or restaurant after hours makes any sense, so we have to just talk through that.”
The Wisconsin Policy Forum released a report last year detailing the concerns lawmakers need to consider with sports betting.
Proposed 2025 Wisconsin online sports betting language
August co-authored the bill considered last year. It carried bipartisan support in both chambers, with co-sponsors that included Rep. Kalan Haywood and senators Howard Marklein and Kristin Dassler-Alfheim.
The proposed language last year would expand the definition of a bet in Wisconsin. It would allow wagers on mobile or electronic devices by a person in Wisconsin, so long as the device processing the bet is on tribal land. It would be a “hub-and-spoke model” similar to what exists in Florida with the Seminole tribe, and all 11 Wisconsin tribes could partner with sportsbook operators.
Online expansion would require renegotiation of tribal gaming compacts. Those would also require approval from the federal Bureau of Indian Affairs.
The bill received support from the tribes, as well as professional sports teams in Wisconsin.
During an episode of the “The New Normal” podcast in November, Dominic Ortiz, CEO of the Potawatomi Casinos & Hotels, said the proposal created a “fair playing field and unites the tribes”.
Pat Evans
Pat covers the legislation and regulation of online gambling in North and South America, having covered the US sports betting industry extensively since 2019.
Wisconsin lawmakers are finalising a tribal‑exclusive online sports betting bill for a likely Assembly vote.