Wisconsin online sports betting law unconstitutional, suit claims
Wisconsin online sports betting lawsuit
A new lawsuit is trying to stop Wisconsin online sports betting before it ever kicks off.
MILWAUKEE - A new lawsuit is trying to stop Wisconsin online sports betting before it ever kicks off.
Online sports betting
The backstory:
In April, the Wisconsin Legislature and Gov. Tony Evers approved a new law, Act 247, which opened the door to legalized online sports betting. The bipartisan law requires servers for the online bets be on tribal lands.
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There are several additional and lengthy steps before it is allowed. The governor needs to renegotiate agreements with the state's 11 tribes, which have started, but often drag on. Once a deal is finally reached, the federal government would need to approve it.
In February, the Marquette Law School Poll found 64% of Wisconsinites oppose the state legalizing online sports betting.
Wisconsin lawsuit
Big picture view:
On Aug. 5, the Wisconsin Institute for Law and Liberty sued on behalf of the Brown County Taxpayers Association and Citizens Defending Liberty. The lawsuit claims the law is unconstitutional.
The lawsuit bases that argument first on the state constitutional amendment voters approved in 1993, which states the Legislature may not authorize gambling in any form. The Constitution does give exemptions for bingos, raffles, on-track betting, and the state lottery.
The lawsuit also alleges the law breaks the constitutional protections found in the equal protection clause, because it only allows online sports betting on severs located on tribal lands.
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"The Act provides a benefit to some – not all – based on, at bottom, race," the lawsuit stated.
What's next:
Gov. Tony Evers' spokesperson, Britt Cudaback, said the governor will fight the new challenge. She also accused the law firm of "actively working to undermine the sovereignty of the Tribal Nations in Wisconsin."
Law firm, Forest County Potawatomi
What they're saying:
The casinos found in Wisconsin are a result of federal law and court cases, which opened the door for the agreements between the state and the tribes to have gambling. In Wisconsin, those agreements were first signed in 1991 and 1992.
"Thirty years ago, the people of Wisconsin saw an increase in gambling going on in the state, and they responded to that by adopting a constitutional amendment at that time. And it said it took away the Legislature's broad power to enable gambling in any form, and they put that in the Constitution. So, the Legislature didn't have the power to do anything related to the authorization of gambling going forward," said Lucas Vebber, attorney with the Wisconsin Institute for Law and Liberty.
The Forest County Potawatomi Community responded:
"Wisconsin Act 247 – which passed with strong bi-partisan support – does not violate any provisions of the U.S. Constitution, federal law, or the Wisconsin Constitution. In 2006, the Wisconsin Supreme Court ruled that compact amendments expanding the scope of gaming were protected under the contract clauses of the United States and Wisconsin Constitutions and did not violate the 1993 state constitutional amendment limiting gambling. The court specifically stated that ‘gaming can be expanded to the extent that the State and Tribes negotiate…’ We are confident that Act 247 will be upheld by the courts."
Vebber pointed out the law would expand gambling to anywhere in the state, not just tribal grounds.
"You're placing that bet in the state of Wisconsin. Your feet are firmly planted in the state of Wisconsin. Your phone is just connecting there. It's just like, you know, if you're connecting to Bermuda or something. You're placing the bet in the state of Wisconsin. It's just being processed on the server, and that's why we would argue that federal law doesn't preempt it here," Vebber said.
Portions of this article were formatted using A.I. FOX6’s Jason Calvi and an editor reviewed it for accuracy and tone prior to publishing.
The Source: Information in this story was gathered from Lucas Vebber, the lawsuit filed by the Wisconsin Institute for Law and Liberty, the Marquette University Law School Poll, and reaction from the Forest County Potawatomi Community and Gov. Tony Evers' spokesperson.