Wisconsin

Sports Betting in Wisconsin

At this point, Wisconsin residents enjoy whatever gaming options that the 11 Native American tribes in the state afford them. Other than that, it’s ‘slim pickings’ in terms of gambling options. There’s charitable bingo and raffle which was made legal in 1973. Parimutuel wagering was made legal in 1987 but there’s one problem—there are no longer any live races to bet on in Wisconsin. The last track was Dairyland Greyhound Park which closed in 2009. The law does allow simulcast betting and this is offered at some of the state’s Native American tribal properties. The Wisconsin Lottery was launched in 1988 and their game offerings scaled back in 1992. They currently offer draw games including Powerball and Mega Millions, scratch off games and pull tabs.

The state signed compacts with 11 Native American tribes seeking to offer casinos on their land in 1991 and 1992. Native American casinos are allowed to offer Class 3 gaming including slot machines, video poker, video keno along with table games, bingo and off track betting. There are approximately 20 Native American properties in the state.

Don’t expect anything to happen in Wisconsin’s gaming regulations unless it is driven by the Native American tribal casinos. The last known attempt to legislate casino gambling on non- tribal land was back in 2007 and this was vetoed by the governor. It’s always possible that the tribes will negotiate sports betting into their gaming compact with the state but it’s unlikely that anything will be done in the near term.

Sports Betting in Milwaukee

At this point, Wisconsin residents enjoy whatever gaming options that the 11 Native American tribes in the state afford them. Surprisingly given it’s size and significance many other areas of the state have it better than Milwaukee. Other than that, it’s ‘slim pickings’ in terms of gambling options. There’s charitable bingo and raffle which was made legal in 1973. Parimutuel wagering was made legal in 1987 but there’s one problem—there are no longer any live races to bet on in Wisconsin. The last track was Dairyland Greyhound Park which closed in 2009. The law does allow simulcast betting and this is offered at some of the state’s Native American tribal properties. The Wisconsin Lottery was launched in 1988 and their game offerings scaled back in 1992. They currently offer draw games including Powerball and Mega Millions, scratch off games and pull tabs.

The state signed compacts with 11 Native American tribes seeking to offer casinos on their land in 1991 and 1992. Native American casinos are allowed to offer Class 3 gaming including slot machines, video poker, video keno along with table games, bingo and off track betting. There are approximately 20 Native American properties in the state. The only one in Milwaukee County is the Potawatomi Hotel and Casino though it offers 2,500 slot machines, nearly 100 gaming tables, bingo, live poker and off track parimutuel betting. Otherwise only one Native American tribal gaming property is less than two hours away from Milwaukee. On the other hand, Chicago is just 90 minutes to the South and that along with several neighboring states provides Milwaukee residents with more casino gambling options.

Don’t expect anything to happen in Wisconsin’s gaming regulations unless it is driven by the Native American tribal casinos. The last known attempt to legislate casino gambling on non-tribal land was back in 2007 and this was vetoed by the governor. It’s always possible that the tribes will negotiate sports betting into their gaming compact with the state but it’s unlikely that anything will be done in the near term. With most of the Native American land concentrated to the West and Northwest of Milwaukee it’s also difficult to envision any new casino development close to the city.