Wisconsin tribal leaders are again pushing lawmakers to allow statewide mobile sports betting under a tribal-controlled model, arguing the state is already losing betting dollars while tribes remain limited by current rules. The push resurfaced publicly around the State of the Tribes address and related Capitol lobbying.
The bills would treat tribal land as the betting “hub”
The proposal is built around companion bills SB 592 and AB 601. The basic structure is that bets could be placed statewide on phones, but the “hub” for processing them would be located on tribal land and tied to tribal-state compacts. Supporters frame that as a way to expand online access without opening a full commercial market.
It’s the same legal concept used in other states’ tribal models: the wager is treated as occurring where the server sits, not where the customer taps the button. That’s the argument tribes believe gives the plan its cleanest path.
Why the proposal keeps stalling in Madison
This idea has repeatedly run into a familiar Wisconsin problem: leadership control of floor time, plus unease about expanding gambling even when the structure stays tribal. Reports have also noted pressure from national sportsbook interests, which typically prefer models where they can operate directly rather than through required tribal partnerships.
Supporters say the politics look more workable now than in past sessions, pointing to comments from key lawmakers and signals from the governor that a bill could be signed if it reaches his desk. But the underlying fight is still the same: who gets the market, and under what legal structure.
For tribes, the pitch is simple: if betting is happening anyway, Wisconsin should keep it inside a compacted system with enforcement tools, instead of pretending the demand doesn’t exist.
