St Croix Casinos open two new sportsbooks in Wisconsin

The St Croix Chippewa Tribe of Wisconsin has opened two new sportsbooks at its Turtle Lake and Danbury casinos.

US.- St Croix Casinos have opened two new sportsbooks at Turtle Lake and Danbury in Wisconsin. The launches come after the St Croix Chippewa Tribe of Wisconsin and governor Tony Evers signed a gaming compact amendment in December to allow event wagering.

St Croix Casino in Turtle Lake, Wisconsin opened its sportsbook on Friday. The first official bet was placed by Georgia Cobenais, a member of the Turtle Lake Tribal Council. Cobenais commented on the long road to get to this point. She said it was “Nerve-wracking, exciting,” according to Fox9, “but we had a great team all the way around and everybody worked together.”

Wisconsin legalised sports betting at its tribal casinos last year, but St Croix Casinos still had to work through the final approvals of their set-up with federal agencies in a five-month process. Jeff Merrill, the sportsbook’s manager said the biggest challenge was clearing the hurdles at the federal government level.

The St Croix Casino in Danbury opened its sportsbook on Saturday. The new facility has four betting kiosks, a bar, a lounge, and seven TV’s, each of which can play a different game.

“It’s another form of entertainment. It’s another reason for people to visit. And I think it’s going to bring a new crowd, a new age group,” said Loren Benjamin, general manager of the casino, according to CBS 3 Duluth.

The “Red Zone”, the sports betting lounge, cost the casino roughly $80,000 to build. The sportsbook was originally slated to open before the Super Bowl but didn’t make it on time.

After signing the gaming compact amendment, St Croix Tribal Chairman William Reynolds said: “It means a lot to us, not just economically for the tribe itself, but it also helps our tourism in our counties that our casinos reside in. We’re still working on our construction. We’re working on our policies and procedures, fine-tuning them to get ready to go.”

Governor Tony Evers added: “I’m grateful for Chairman Reynolds and the St. Croix Chippewa Tribal Council for their efforts to negotiate this compact. Event wagering will bring new opportunities for employment and revenue growth to the Tribe and provide a welcome boost to our recovering tourism and entertainment industries.”

St Croix Chippewa Tribe of Wisconsin followed the Oneida Nation, which last year became the first Wisconsin tribe to offer legal sports betting. Gov Evers and the Oneida Nation signed an agreement to allow sports betting at the tribe’s casinos and associated locations last July.

See also: Wisconsin’s Potawatomi Hotel and Casino to offer sports betting