Wisconsin judge admits eight tribes to sports betting law challenge
Regulation2 min read
A Waukesha County Circuit Court judge approved eight Native American tribes’ requests to join a lawsuit challenging Wisconsin’s online sports betting law. The court set a schedule for legal briefs through February and March, with oral arguments on 20 April 2027; a decision is unlikely before May. The law would allow the state to negotiate tribal agreements for online betting, but opponents argue the governor lacked authority to expand gambling this way.
Wisconsin's sports betting expansion will stay on hold for several more months after a judge let eight Native American tribes enter a legal challenge to the state's new betting law. Governor Tony Evers signed the legislation in April; it would enable the state to negotiate online sports betting agreements with tribal nations.
The participating tribes include the Oneida Nation, Menominee Indian Tribe of Wisconsin, Bad River Ojibwe, Forest County Potawatomi, Ho-Chunk, Red Cliff Ojibwe, Mole Lake Ojibwe and Stockbridge-Munsee Mohican.
The Wisconsin Institute for Law & Liberty (WILL) brought the case in August to have the law struck down. Acting for the Brown County Taxpayers Association and Citizens Defending Liberty, the group contends that the measure creates a new type of gambling without voter approval. Opponents also contend that the governor overstepped his authority by broadening gambling in Wisconsin through tribal compacts. Attorney Lucas Vebber told the court that WILL intends to revise its complaint in the coming weeks, adding arguments connected to Wisconsin's recently approved constitutional amendment on race-based preferences.
Wisconsin residents can currently bet on sports at casinos on tribal land, but cannot legally do so statewide through a mobile app. The new law would permit wagers from anywhere in the state by phone or other electronic device if the processing systems were on tribal land and operated under existing gaming compacts. Supporters, including the Forest County Potawatomi Community, point to Florida's model, where online bets are routed through servers on tribal property. They argue that the law has authority to determine where a bet takes place.
At a hearing on 9 November, Waukesha County Circuit Court judge J. Arthur Melvin approved a schedule for briefs through February and March, followed by oral arguments on 20 April 2027. No objections to the tribes' participation were raised at the hearing. A decision on Wisconsin's online sports betting future is reportedly unlikely before May.