The number of options for legal sports betting in Wisconsin is gradually growing after the recent striking of new gaming agreements with Native American tribes in the Badger State.
Most recently, a notice appeared on October 5 in the Federal Register, the official journal of the U.S. federal government, announcing the approval of amendments to a gaming compact between the Menominee Indian Tribe of Wisconsin and the state.
“The Amendment permits the Tribe to engage in event wagering, including requiring minimum internal control standards and rules of play for event wagering,” the notice states.
An eventful time
Those changes to the compact took effect on September 30 and put the Keshena, Wi.-based Menominee Tribe in line to start offering legal sports betting at some point.
The tribe already operates the Menominee Casino Resort and announced in July it was partnering with Hard Rock International to take another run at opening a casino in Kenosha. A previous attempt by the Menominee at establishing a Kenosha-based gaming facility earned approvals from the city, county, and federal government, but was shot down by then-Gov. Scott Walker in 2015.
Wisconsin’s current governor, Tony Evers, has struck a handful of gaming agreements, similar to the one with the Menominee, with other tribes in the state. The compact changes allow the tribes to offer in-person and online sports betting on their lands and at certain properties.
The most recent deal trumpeted by the governor was with the Sokaogon Chippewa Community of northern Wisconsin, which was announced on September 30. The agreement tweaks the tribe's gaming compact with the state and was sent to the U.S. Department of the Interior for a 45-day review, a press release noted.
If approved, the amendment “will open the door for the Sokaogon Chippewa Community to begin offering sports betting and other forms of event wagering at its existing Mole Lake Casino & Lodge and mobile wagering on other land within its reservation just in time for the Super Bowl and college bowl games."
Oversight of sports betting at the facility will be the responsibility of the Wisconsin Department of Administration (DOA), which regulates the casino gambling offered by the state's 11 federally recognized tribes.
“This amendment will generate additional revenue for the Tribe and our state, bolster local tourism, and support jobs in Northern Wisconsin—and that’s a win-win for everyone,” Gov. Evers said in the release.
As we recognize #IndigenousPeoplesDay, I hope you’ll join me today in celebrating the 12 Native Nations across our state and the immense contributions of Native people, without whom Wisconsin would not be what it is today. pic.twitter.com/SSq4LzyPwz
— Governor Tony Evers (@GovEvers) October 10, 2022
Wisconsin is nearly surrounded by legal sports betting states, with Minnesota to the west remaining a notable exception despite legalization efforts there by local lawmakers.
Still, it was only in the summer of 2021 that Wisconsin really got the ball rolling on sports betting. That was when Evers and the Oneida Nation announced a gaming-compact amendment that was the "first to allow event wagering, including sports betting, to occur" in the state, a press release declared.
Despite this, Wisconsin still lacks a truly statewide option for online sports betting — and there seems to be no great hurry to provide one. Although bettors may be able to use their phone to get a wager down on a game at a property owned by a tribe, they won’t be able to do so from home, unlike in Illinois or Michigan.
In the meantime, six federally recognized tribes now have either authorization or pending authorization for sports betting. More tribes could follow suit.
“It is our shared interests that help make these negotiations so successful for the Tribe and the state,” Wisconsin Department of Administration Secretary Kathy Blumenfeld said in the Sept. 30 release. “We look forward to continuing our cooperative relationship with the Sokaogon Chippewa Community.”
