Online sports betting won’t be available in Wisconsin before the end of this year, and potentially not by the end of 2027, either, after a state judge on Monday set the schedule for a court case challenging the state’s new law.
Waukesha County Judge J. Arthur Melvin set an April 20, 2027 date for oral arguments and said he expects a ruling shortly after.
Should the state win the case, it would still likely take months before new tribal compacts are approved and in place and an infrastructure is set. The case could, however, be moved to federal court.
The Wisconsin Institute for Law and Liberty (WILL), on behalf of Brown County Taxpayers Association and Citizens Defending Liberty, in August filed the lawsuit, which claims that the state legislature’s decision to legalize online sports betting via Indian Country was out of bounds.
Earlier in the year, the legislature passed a law that would allow for tribes to offer statewide mobile sports betting and for bets to be considered placed where received. All bets would flow through tribal servers.
