Wisconsin Sports Betting Launches in Green Bay But Retail Only

By David Caraviello

Mar 14th, 2024 7:22 AM EST

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The first legal sports bet in Wisconsin was placed Tuesday morning at a Green Bay tribal casino located just 3.7 miles from the home of the Green Bay Packers. And the wager was on – the New Orleans Saints?

Blame it on the NFL’s upcoming Thursday night game (Saints vs Cowboys), according to Green Bay’s WBAY-TV. And there will be many bets on the Packers to come now that Oneida Casino has become the first gaming facility in Wisconsin to offer sports wagers and NFL betting. Oneida Nation officials held a ribbon cutting at 9 a.m. CT to celebrate the occasion at a casino that began as a bingo operation in 1976.

Using kiosks and retail tellers, sports bettors at Oneida Casino are now able to place wagers on professional sporting events, amateur or college sporting events excluding teams from Wisconsin, the Olympics, professional sports league drafts and nationally televised award shows. Oneida Casino is using IGT’s PlaySports platform to power its sports betting infrastructure.

No Mobile Betting Yet in Wisconsin

As for mobile sports betting, the Oneida Casino website says the practice is “coming soon,” but offers no further details. Sports bettors in the Green Bay area who wish to wager via mobile device must currently cross the border into the Upper Peninsula of Michigan and play on Michigan sports betting sites. The Great Lakes State began accepting mobile sports bets in January, taking in a $463 million mobile handle in October. You can also play table games and slots at online Michigan casinos.

The opening of the Oneida sportsbook in Wisconsin is just the latest step for a sports betting industry that continues to sweep the Midwest, buoyed by the success of betting apps.

Two other states that neighbor Wisconsin, Illinois and Iowa, also offer sports betting, both mobile and in-person. Mobile betting represents 96% of the total handle in Illinois, and 89% of the total handle in Iowa.

Potawatomi Plans to Follow Suit

Wisconsin in 1991 entered into gaming compact agreements with all 11 federally recognized Native American tribes in the state. In July, Gov. Tony Evers and Oneida chairman Tehassi Hill signed an amendment to the Oneida compact that allowed the tribe to offer sports betting. That amendment was approved in August by the U.S. Department of the Interior’s Bureau of Indian Affairs, giving Oneida the green light to take sports bets.

Sports betting is currently allowed only in person at the main Oneida Casino gaming facility, though the tribe plans to expand it to other locations within the Oneida Nation. And more sportsbooks could be coming to Wisconsin — the Potawatomi tribe, which operates a casino in Milwaukee, told the Green Bay Press-Gazette that it would seek to amend its gaming compact with the state to also allow sports betting.

About the Author

David Caraviello

More About David

Veteran sports journalist David Caraviello has covered college football, college basketball, motorsports and golf, covering all three US golf majors, the Daytona 500 and SEC football.

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