Wisconsin lawmakers begin discussion on online sports betting bill
The Senate Committee on Agriculture and Revenue has heard testimony on the proposal.
US.- Wisconsin lawmakers have begun discussing a proposal that would legalise online sports betting in the state. Senate Bill 592 proposes amending state-tribal gaming pacts to allow online sportsbook servers on tribal land.
The Senate Committee on Agriculture and Revenue has heard testimony on the bill. One of the proposal’s co-authors, senator Howard Marklein, who sits on the committee, said during the hearing: “If we do this, it will legalise what a lot of people do right now illegally. We’ll make this legal and collect taxes on this, which we certainly need.”
Marklein co-authored the bill with Reps. Tyler August and Kalan Haywood and Sens Kristin Dassler-Alfheim.
The Sports Betting Alliance (SBA), which represents sportsbook operators, also testified during the hearing. Its representative said a requirement to give 60 per cent of revenue to partner tribes would make participation “economically unattractive.”
Sports betting is currently legal in the state only in-person on tribal land. The bill would introduce a model similar to Florida’s, where Hard Rock Bet serves as the only online sports betting provider through a gaming compact between the state and the Seminole Tribe of Florida. New compacts would require approval by the US Department of the Interior.
