Wisconsin Gov. & Lac Courte Oreilles Band Sign Sports Betting Compact

Wisconsin Governor Tony Evers has signed a sports betting compact with the Lac Courte Oreilles Band of Lake Superior Chippewa tribal nation. This deal will formally allow the tribe to offer sports betting and betting on other events, including mobile wagering at the Sevenwinds Casino in Hayward, affiliate facilities, and on the reservation.

The LOC tribe is now the fourth Indian tribal operator to come to a similar agreement with the state. It follows in the footsteps of the tribal-state compacts previously inked by Oneida Nation, the St. Croix Chippewa Indians of Wisconsin, and the Forest County Potawatomi. The US Department of Interior has 45 days to review the agreement from the time of submission, placing the launch date before the end of the fall football season if given the nod.

Both Sides Excited About the Prospects of the Deal

The compact agreement is the result of what has been described as a “quick” negotiation process between the Department of Administration’s Office of Indian Gaming and Regulatory Compliance (OIGRC) and the Lac Oreilles Band. Governor Evers and the Lac Courte Oreilles Band Chairman Louis Taylor have both expressed their excitement for the deal and highlighted ways in which it would positively serve the state and the tribe.

After penning the tribal-state compact with the Lac Courte Oreilles Band, the governor voiced his delight in a statement as follows:

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“I am grateful to Chairman Taylor and the Lac Courte Oreilles Tribal Governing Board for their work to negotiate this important compact amendment. This is a win-win for the state and for the Lac Courte Oreilles Tribe. Event wagering will generate additional revenue for the state and give a boost to tourism and employment in Northern Wisconsin.”

Likewise, Chairman Louis Taylor agreed with the governor’s sentiments, saying:

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“This is a great day for the Lac Courte Oreilles Tribe. The amendments will allow the Tribe to continue offering a first-rate gaming experience at our casino. The second part of the amendment will allow the tribe to operate Class III gaming at other locations on our reservation. I am very pleased we were able to work so quickly and cooperatively with Gov. Evers’ team to reach this historic agreement.”

As exciting as the news is, we must admit that this has been a long way coming as negotiations with more operators from the First Nations continue. Meanwhile, some analysts have predicted that convincing some of the other tribes to amend their existing gaming compacts to include sports betting will not be a walk in the park.

Delays in Launching from the Start

Despite being legalized in 2021, the Wisconsin sports betting industry is growing relatively slowly when compared to the milestones other states have achieved within the same period. The reason being the implementation process has been a slow one, given that each operator has to negotiate on an individual level.

Thanks to the latest tribal compact, the market will now be controlled by four tribal operators. So far, however, only the Oneida Casino, which signed an agreement in November 2021, is in operation. The St. Croix Chippewa Indians of Wisconsin and the Forest County Potawatomi Community are planning to launch before the end of 2022.

On the other hand, there are no strict rules on betting on daily fantasy sports, but punters in the state have been indirectly allowed to bet on them. Additionally, online sports betting is still in its early stages as it recently launched with Oneida pioneering the first ever mobile sportsbook in the state (the Oneida Casino Sportsbook Mobile App).

But then, when it comes to online and mobile wagering, there’s one massive setback that the Badger State continues to face. Unlike other states where players can bet online from anywhere within the state borders, Wisconsin bettors are restricted to only playing within the casino premises. The Oneida app is now live at the Main-Airport, W. Mason, and Irene Moore Activity Center casinos.

To alleviate the said roadblock, discussions have been scheduled on amendments that are slated to be made regarding online gaming regulations and geo-fencing. The plan is to find a better way to control where players can bet with their devices, among other things, without curtailing the industry’s potential.

Slow But Steady?

Wisconsin is one of the few states that have been hesitant to legalize sports betting, fearing it would affect tribal casino revenues. However, after the Covid-19 pandemic hit, land-based casinos had to shut down forcibly, and significant losses were incurred in the gaming scene. As such, the state had to reconsider its earlier reservations, especially after discovering its over-reliance on tribal-run gambling facilities.

Watching its residents crossing over to neighboring Illinois and Iowa and offshore sportsbooks during the lockdown was a sure wake-up call for the Badger State. Its legislators were nudged into action, and they started initiating negotiations with operators to amend early agreements.

However, the implementation has not been as fast as witnessed in other states as a considerable amount of time has been used in setting up. This is because the First Nations operators with gaming compacts have been prioritized over independent bigwigs in the gambling arena like FanDuels, DraftKings, PointsBet, Barstool, and Caesars.

As several states continue to pocket lucrative sports betting revenues from prompt decisions made by legislators, it will be interesting to watch if the Badger State picks up the pace. States like New York, which is only a few months old in the mobile betting scene, is already reaping billion-dollar rewards owing to its more liberal regulations.