Wisconsin Lawmakers Consider Tribal-Controlled Online Sports Betting Launch in 2026

By Joe Morey Rez Life Weekly Editor

Wisconsin could see online sports betting become legal as early as 2026 under new legislation that would place control firmly in the hands of the state’s tribal nations, according to reporting by Gaming America.

The proposal, Assembly Bill 601, would allow Wisconsin tribes to offer online sports wagering through mobile platforms while keeping major national sportsbook operators such as FanDuel, DraftKings, and BetMGM outside the state’s betting market.

Assembly Majority Leader Tyler August, a Republican from Walworth and co-author of the bipartisan bill, said the legislation would modernize Wisconsin’s betting framework without expanding commercial gambling.

Speaking with Spectrum News, August said the bill focuses on redefining what constitutes a legal wager.

“It just simply changes the definition of what a bet is to include a sports bet on a mobile device,” August said, according to Gaming America.

Sports betting is already legal in Wisconsin, but only in person at tribal casinos such as Potawatomi Casino Hotel, Lake of the Torches, and St. Croix Casino. The proposed legislation would extend that authorization to mobile betting while maintaining tribal exclusivity.

Under the bill, Wisconsin would adopt a model similar to Florida’s sports betting structure. All betting servers and technology would be located on tribal lands, even if wagers are placed through mobile devices elsewhere in the state. This approach is designed to keep betting activity legally tied to tribal jurisdiction.

Democratic Governor Tony Evers is expected to sign the bill if it receives formal backing from Wisconsin’s tribes. If that support is secured, the state would then need to negotiate updated gaming compacts with each participating tribe.

Those revised compacts would require approval from the federal government before any sports betting applications could be launched statewide.

A similar proposal stalled last year after being removed from the Assembly calendar, but supporters believe the updated bill has a better chance of advancing to the Senate floor.

During earlier discussions around sports betting legislation, Jeff Crawford, attorney general for the Forest County Potawatomi Tribe, said Wisconsin’s major professional sports teams had expressed support for the measure.

According to Gaming America, the Milwaukee Brewers, Milwaukee Bucks, and Green Bay Packers all backed the effort to legalize tribal operated online sports betting.

Pressure Builds as Prediction Markets Expand

Since the earlier bill stalled, national betting companies have increased their presence in Wisconsin through prediction markets. Fanatics and DraftKings have launched such platforms in the state, and FanDuel is expected to follow.

These developments have added urgency for lawmakers who want to establish clear rules for sports wagering before national operators expand further into Wisconsin’s betting landscape.

August said the legislation is a responsible approach that balances economic opportunity with consumer protection.

“I think it’s responsible legislation,” he said. “If we’re worried about problem gambling, we should be wanting to push the online sports gaming into the tribal structure, where we can rely on our Wisconsin based tribes to operate because they ultimately have the same goals as we do, a healthy and prosperous Wisconsin, versus these out of state companies that are really just coming in here to make a quick buck.”

For now, the future of online sports betting in Wisconsin hinges on tribal support and compact negotiations. If approved, the state would create a sports wagering system that prioritizes tribal sovereignty and local oversight rather than opening the market to national sportsbook brands.

According to Gaming America, the bill represents a compromise that modernizes betting access while preserving Wisconsin’s longstanding tribal gaming framework.

Tribal Leadership Weighs In on Online Betting Expansion

Tribal leaders in Wisconsin have publicly supported the concept of mobile sports betting that stays rooted in tribal control, saying it would modernize current gambling options while preserving sovereignty.

Jeff Crawford, Potawatomi AG, testified at a Wisconsin legislative hearing in support of allowing tribes to offer expanded online sports betting. According to Native News, Crawford said that expanding tribal wagering would bring oversight to what he described as a “Wild West” of unregulated online gambling in the state and provide consumer protections that are not currently available under offshore betting systems.

Leaders from the Ho-Chunk Nation also highlighted the potential benefits of tribal-run mobile sports wagering. Kyle White Eagle, a tribal legislator for the Ho-Chunk Nation, told reporters that giving tribes the right to conduct mobile sports betting would not solve all economic challenges but would provide significant new revenue that could be directed toward tribal priorities such as combating poverty and addressing opioid addiction.

Potential Impact on Tribal Revenues

The prospect of legal online sports betting carries significant economic implications for Wisconsin’s tribal nations, which already generate substantial income from gaming operations.

According to a 2025 Legislative Reference Bureau report, the state’s 11 tribes collectively reported $1.3 billion in net gaming revenue in 2023 from their existing casino operations. Under the online sports betting proposal now being debated, tribes could capture wagering revenue that currently flows outside the state or into unregulated markets.

Industry analysts and tribal advocates argue that mobile sports betting could expand revenue streams without building new physical casinos. Revenue generated through tribal-run mobile betting could be used to support tribal government services, healthcare, education, tribal infrastructure, and economic development initiatives. Because tribal governments are sovereign entities, revenue from these operations tends to stay within tribal communities rather than going to outside shareholders.

Supporters of the bill also note that legalizing and regulating online sports wagering through tribal operators may reduce the amount of money Wisconsin residents currently spend with out-of-state sportsbooks or illegal offshore platforms. By capturing that spending within the tribal gaming framework, tribes stand to bolster existing economic enterprises and reinvest in community priorities.

Tribal support coupled with wider legislative momentum suggests that, if passed, the bill could redirect a portion of the state’s gaming economy toward tribal nations and provide ongoing funding for essential programs and services.