Wisconsin Aims For ‘Equitable Model’ for Tribal Online Sports Betting
Posted on: April 10, 2026, 08:17h.
Last updated on: April 10, 2026, 09:01h.
- Online sports betting is now legal in Wisconsin
- Online sportsbooks are reserved for tribal nations with Class III gaming compacts
- Gov. Evers wants to ensure that all tribes benefit from mobile sports gambling
Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers (D) has signed legislation allowing the state’s 11 federally recognized compact gaming tribes to take online sports bets.
However, Evers, who isn’t seeking reelection this November for a third term, signed Assembly Bill 601 (AB601) with a slew of reservations.
AB601 utilizes the so-called “hub-and-spoke” online sports betting model for tribal nations that originated in Florida with the Seminole Tribe’s Hard Rock Bet.
Federal courts have ruled that the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act permits Class III gaming to include online sports gambling, so long as the mobile sportsbook computer servers facilitating the wagers remain on Native lands.
Wisconsin’s tribes say permission to operate online sports betting will provide their sovereign economies with an influx of gaming revenue, leading to a better quality of life and sovereign stability.
In states where in-person and online sports betting are allowed, remote bets account for more than 90% of the action.
With many Wisconsin tribes located in rural parts of the state, their retail sportsbooks have failed to generate much benefit.
Governor’s Reservations
Evers wants to ensure that expanding sports betting online is and remains equitable among the tribes.
“This legislation is the beginning of a conversation, not the end of one. The real work begins today,” said Evers.
Each of the 11 tribes must now work diligently, and together, to shape the future of sports betting in Wisconsin. What I will not accept is a plan that fractures this opportunity into unequal pieces, allowing some tribes to reap great benefits while leaving only crumbs for others,” the governor declared.
Evers wants an “equitable model” where the tribal nations share “the risks and rewards of mobile gaming.” The governor said a collaborative venture where each tribe benefits in equal shares could be the best solution.
Before tribal nations can begin taking online sports bets, each Native group must amend its Class III gaming compact with Evers. It is the governor’s wish that those amendments be uniform.
Revenue Share Concerns
Another concern with AB601 is that it might not attract market leaders like DraftKings and FanDuel to partner with the tribal casinos.
Since AB601 only authorizes new forms of tribal gaming, federal Indian gaming law mandates that at least 60% of the gross revenue from online sports betting remain with the tribes.
The Sports Betting Alliance (SBA), which represents DraftKings, FanDuel, Fanatics, BetMGM, and bet365, lobbied that the revenue-share requirement would render the market unattractive.
The SBA encouraged Wisconsin lawmakers to authorize commercial sportsbooks online that would partner with the tribes, but the state didn’t budge.
The SBA contends that by keeping out the household sportsbook brands, Wisconsin’s online sports betting industry won’t reach its full potential, hurting the tribes and state sports betting consumers.
In Arkansas, however, another state that, while not tribal, mandates that 51% of an online sportsbook’s revenue remain with its partnered land-based casino, DraftKings and FanDuel made similar claims that the revenue-share requirement made the market inoperable.
But after years of lobbying, the sportsbooks applied and secured online sportsbook licenses earlier this year.
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