Share 
The Wisconsin Legislature has cleared the way for legal mobile sports betting, leaving Gov. Tony Evers’ signature as the final hurdle.
Evers is seeking consensus among the state’s Native American tribes. Last week, eight of the 11 tribes signed a letter urging the governor to sign the bill into law.
Majority of tribes sign letter of support
Tribal nations are the primary operators of brick-and-mortar casinos in Wisconsin. Evers has indicated he would not sign the bill without approval from all 11 tribes.
If the bill becomes law, Wisconsin’s tribes would immediately become the sole proprietors of online sports betting in the state. The eight tribes that signed the letter include:
- Bad River Band of Lake Superior Chippewa Indians
- Forest County Potawatomi Community
- Ho-Chunk Nation
- La Courte Oreilles Band of Lake Superior Chippewa Indians
- Red Cliff Band of Lake Superior Chippewa Indians
- Sokaogon Chippewa Community
- St. Croix Chippewa Indians
- Stockbridge-Munsee Community Band of Mohican Indians
The legal path for Wisconsin mobile betting
While Wisconsin amended tribal compacts in 2021 to permit in-person sports betting at tribal casinos, efforts to legalize mobile betting have previously stalled. Assembly Majority Leader Tyler Austin, R-Walworth, introduced a similar bill in 2025 but tabled it for further discussion, leaving Wisconsinites without legal mobile avenues for another year.
The current legislation, Assembly Bill 601, passed the Assembly via voice vote on the final day of the session before clearing the Senate.
AB 601 mirrors the legal framework used in Florida, which allows tribal casinos to offer statewide mobile gambling as long as the computer servers processing the bets are located on tribal lands. In Florida, the 2021 Seminole Compact faced years of legal challenges before the U.S. Supreme Court declined to block the agreement in 2023.
The Seminole Tribe has remained the sole operator of mobile sports betting in Florida since. Wisconsin’s tribes would see a similar monopoly under the proposed law.
“I’ll have to take a look at what the bill actually says, but also talk to those people from whichever tribal nations haven’t signed on (to see) where they are at,” Evers said in a news post by Legal Sports Report. “And so, we’ll be doing some talking with tribal leaders, and hopefully we can get something done.”
