WISCONSIN — The U.S. Department of Interior is reviewing a new gaming agreement reached between the Lac Courte Oreilles Band of Lake Superior Chippewa and the state of Wisconsin.
Gov. Tony Evers and tribal Chairman Louis Taylor have signed a compact amendment to allow betting on sports and non-sporting events at the tribe's Sevenwinds Casino in Hayward and mobile wagering on other land within its reservation.
The amendment follows negotiations between the tribe and the state Department of Administration’s Division of Gaming.
The Department of Interior's review will take 45 days, the State Journal reported.
Sports gambling was initially legalized in Wisconsin about a year ago when the Evers administration amended its compact with the Oneida Nation to allow sports wagering at its facilities. The St. Croix Chippewa and the Forest County Potawatomi have followed suit.
After a 2018 U.S. Supreme Court ruling, an increasing number of states legalized sports betting, including Iowa, Illinois and Indiana. In Wisconsin, there has been bipartisan support among some lawmakers, but no passage.
It would need to be approved by the Assembly and Senate in two consecutive sessions and would then need to win approval in a statewide referendum in order to change the state’s constitution.
