Wisconsin Governor Tony Evers has approved legislation allowing mobile wagers to be placed through servers located on tribal lands.
Wisconsin Governor Tony Evers has approved legislation allowing mobile wagers to be placed exclusively through servers located on tribal lands.
The state therefore becomes the 33rd in the US to allow bets to be placed online.
In this case, legislators have followed the example of Florida, establishing a ‘hub and spoke’ regulatory model.
This approach ensures that wagers may only be placed where they are being processed through servers located on tribal lands.
The state’s tribal gambling monopoly has been in place since the 1990s and will now be consolidated as Wisconsin enters this new regulatory era.
Supporters of the bill have contended that the monopoly was being undermined by bettors using offshore sports books and prediction markets.
It is intended that the newly clarified definition of a ‘bet’ will lend strengthened legal backing to compliance efforts.
Evers’ signature represents defeat for bill’s critics
Assembly Bill 601 passed with bipartisan support within the legislature, though it has faced criticism from members of the Sports Betting Alliance (SBA).
The likes of FanDuel, DraftKings and other major establishment operators opposed the introduction of the law, which would see them lose 60% of revenues to any tribes they partnered with.
SBA spokesman Damon Stewart has previously said the federal laws on revenue sharing renders the arrangement “not economically feasible.”
Bettors will have to wait before new framework is realised
Online sports betting will not be made available in the state immediately.
Even with the passing of the bill, the state is now legally required to negotiate individual agreements with each of the state’s 11 tribes, a process that could be strung out over an extended period.
Evers, who has previously expressed concern on this point, has made a public statement encouraging close collaboration.
“The real work begins today (…) An approach that exacerbates long-standing inequalities among Tribal Nations is not good for Wisconsinites or Wisconsin.”
The governor had previously emphasised his desire to sign the bill only if it had the support of all 11 recognised tribes.
In support of his call to action, he stressed the potentially wide-reaching social benefits of the new law, suggesting that it represents a chance to “support mental health programmes and to combat the opioid crisis, two issues that I know plague both Tribal Nations and communities across our state.”
According to Evers’ recent statement, all of Wisconsin’s Tribes are currently in active negotiations on how to effectively implement the new law.