What Is Best For Mobile Sports Betting In Wisconsin?

Mobile sports betting is technically legal in Wisconsin, but it must happen on tribal land. With just under 400 square miles, tribal land encompasses a small fraction of Wisconsin, about 0.5%. So again, while mobile sports gambling is "legal" it's not as legal as neighboring Iowa, Illinois, or Michigan.

But what can be done for cheeseheads out there to unleash mobile sports gambling?

There are two avenues. The first is a constitutional amendment and the second is to follow in Florida's footsteps by amending the state's tribal compact. Which is easier?

Constitutional Amendment

There are two ways for the Wisconsin constitution to be changed, the first is through a constitutional amendment. A constitutional amendment requires a lot of steps so I'm going to list them out to make it easier to follow along:

Any proposed constitutional amendment must be approved by a majority of both legislative houses (assembly and senate).
That proposal is then referred to the next legislature which is chosen at the next general election.
The new legislative body must then approve the same proposal through both legislative bodies again.
If the constitutional amendment passes all of those hurdles, then and only then, will it be brought to the people for a vote.
If a simple majority votes "Yes" the amendment passes.

The second way a constitutional amendment can be made is through convention. Per Article XII of the Wisconsin Constitution: "If at any time a majority of the senate and assembly shall deem it necessary to call a convention to revise or change this constitution, they shall recommend to the electors to vote for or against a convention at the next election for members of the legislature. And if it shall appear that a majority of the electors voting thereon have voted for a convention, the legislature shall, at its next session, provide for calling such convention."

Look, that's a lot of steps, but Wisconsin is no stranger to constitutional amendments, in November 2024, the state saw its fifth such amendment in that calendar year. So this isn't a daunting task.

Amended Tribal Compact

Wisconsin could avoid a constitutional fight by following in Florida's footsteps and renegotiating its compact with the 11 tribes in the state.

In 2021, Florida and the Seminole Tribe agreed on a new compact that would see the tribe offer mobile sports wagering across the state through a Hub-and-Spoke approach. Basically, while sports gambling is not legal outside of tribal land, if the server for the mobile app taking the bet is on tribal land, no laws are broken.

This approach was challenged in a court of appeals, which failed, and was even brought up to the Supreme Court, which refused to take the challenge.

Through the current compact between the tribes and the state, Wisconsin takes in $66 million in tax revenues. By-passing the compact with a constitutional amendment would see these payments disappear per the tribal compacts.

With a population of just under six million, Wisconsin is equal in size to Colorado. They also share a similar number of pro sports teams, with Wisconsin's three to Colorado's four. The Mile High State generated $31.9 million in tax revenues in 2024. Should Wisconsin see an equally sized return, they'd be looking at a $30 million loss. Of course, that's assuming America's Dairyland taxes gaming revenues at 10% as Colorado does.

The easiest path might be to follow in Florida's footsteps rather than through a constitutional amendment.