Assembly GOP leaders today pushed off a vote on legislation that would pave the way for online bets to be placed in Wisconsin amid a backlash from some conservatives.
Majority Leader Tyler August, R-Walworth, told WisPolitics on Thursday that he expected to have at least 50 GOP votes for the bill when it came to the floor. He said ahead of today’s floor period there was no rush to pass the bill with the Senate not taking it up until at least January and continued to express confidence it would pass the Assembly if put to a vote.
“I had a conversation with a couple of members over the weekend that brought up some points I hadn’t considered yet, so we’re going to work on those,” August said.
Typically, GOP leaders want enough votes from their own caucus to pass legislation without relying on minority Dems.
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Assembly Minority Leader Greta Neubauer, D-Racine, at a pre-session press conference said she planned to support the bill.
“We know that our tribes in Wisconsin have the right to control gaming in our state and right now that’s not happening with online sports betting. So I do hope we pass the bill that puts control of that industry back in their hands,” Neubauer said.
Current law only allows gaming in Wisconsin on tribal lands. AB 601 would allow online bets so long as they went through servers on tribal lands. The bill is based on a “hub and spoke system” used in Florida that has been upheld by the federal courts. The chamber approved an amendment specifying that servers must be located on tribal lands in Wisconsin.
The conservative Wisconsin Institute for Law & Liberty has argued the legislation is unlawful and would violate the federal Indian Gaming Act by “unleashing tribal betting monopolies off reservation” and the right of equality in the Fourteenth Amendment “by handing a race-based monopoly to Tribal gaming operations while closing the door on everyone else.”
The Sports Betting Alliance, which includes online betting platforms such as DraftKings and FanDuel, is opposing the bill.
The legislation faces an uncertain fate in the state Senate.
Two Republicans, Sens. Rachael Cabral-Guevara, of Appleton, and André Jacque, of New Franken, voted against the bill in committee last week. Their opposition would leave the Senate short of the 17 GOP votes needed to pass it on the floor without Dem support.
Senate Majority Leader Devin LeMahieu, R-Oostburg, said ahead of yesterday’s floor period that his caucus has had some initial discussions on the bill and was still studying the legislation, which was formally introduced three weeks ago.
If signed into law, Gov. Tony Evers would need to renegotiate compacts with the tribes to allow for online gaming and the federal government would need to sign off on the changes. Evers told “UpFront” that he was open to signing the legislation, though he wanted to see final details if the bill makes it to his desk.
