Conservative Groups Sue to Stop Online Sports Betting in Wisconsin
Lawsuit claims bipartisan law passed in March and allowing such betting is unconstitutional
Cell phone. (Pixabay License)
A lawsuit from conservative groups claims Wisconsin’s new online sports betting law is unconstitutional and must be struck down.
The challenge argues a 1993 amendment bans state lawmakers from authorizing new forms of gambling, and the sports betting law only benefits members of tribal nations.
Wisconsin’s online sports betting law, passed with bipartisan support in March, changed the definition of a “bet” to exclude wagers on sporting events as long as the computer server facilitating the transaction is located on federally recognized tribal lands.
A new lawsuit from the conservative Wisconsin Institute for Law and Liberty, filed on behalf of the Brown County Taxpayers Association and Citizens Defending Liberty, claims that regardless of how they did it, state legislators never had the power to authorize sports betting in the first place. It argues residents amended the Wisconsin Constitution in 1993, explicitly limiting gambling outside of bingo, raffles and state-run lotteries.
WILL attorney Lucas Vebber told WPR that amendment came in response to unease in Wisconsin over expansions of casino gambling. He said it appears state lawmakers thought they could get around the constitutional amendment by “just changing the definition” and not expressly authorizing online sports betting.
“But of course, I think our counter to that is if something that was previously illegal is now no longer illegal, you’ve authorized it, right?” said Vebber. “So, by just changing the definition, they’ve made certain things lawful that were not lawful previously, and that itself is a form of authorization that’s not allowed under the constitution.”
The online sports betting law was supported by Wisconsin tribal nations and strongly opposed by some of the biggest online sports betting companies in the nation, like DraftKings and FanDuel. Vebber said no sports betting companies have been involved in the lawsuit.
Democrats argued online betting was already happening in Wisconsin and the law gave the state and tribes input. Some Republicans in the state Senate voted against the bill over concerns about expanding gambling.
In order to pass the bill, Senate Majority Leader Devin LeMahieu, R-Oostburg, worked with Democrats to get it over the hump.
WILL and the groups it represents are also arguing the online sports betting law violates the U.S. Constitution because it only benefits members of Wisconsin’s 11 federally recognized tribal nations, based on race.
In a social media post earlier this year, WILL attorney Dan Lennington suggested a lawsuit over the sports betting law “will likely call into question all gaming in Wisconsin, not just online sports betting.”
“The casinos are on shaky legal ground already,” said Lennington.
Vebber said the lawsuit isn’t seeking to undo any gaming compacts between the state and tribal nations because the lawsuit is specifically targeting the sports betting law.
The case, filed in Waukesha County Circuit Court, asks a judge to declare the sports betting law unconstitutional and block any future attempts to amend gaming compacts to include sports betting.
In a social media post responding to the lawsuit, Wednesday, Gov. Tony Evers’ spokesperson Britt Cudaback accused WILL of being “a radical, right-wing entity that is actively working to undermine the sovereignty of the Tribal Nations in Wisconsin, and @GovEvers will fight that effort every step of the way.”
Conservative groups sue to stop online sports betting in Wisconsin was originally published by Wisconsin Public Radio.
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