New Details Emerge on Wisconsin Sports Betting Revenue

A new report is shedding light on just how much revenue Wisconsin sports betting generates on an annual.

Profit margins for sports betting in the United States typically do not require this kind of reaction. Most places provide monthly breakdowns of their sports wagering figures.

Things are different for sports betting in Wisconsin. As of right now, only federally recognized tribes can be licensed and ultimately offer gambling services. They do not release specific figures for their sports betting business, at least not on a scheduled or even regular basis.

This setup is virtually identical to how sports betting in Florida operates. Only the Seminole Tribe can offer it at the moment. Their gaming compact with The Sunshine State is a matter of public record. But they do not offer the same detailed breakdowns as states that have commercial online sportsbooks operating inside their markets.

Now, both Florida and The Badger State do provide figures for their overall casino gaming revenue. However, disentangling Wisconsin sports betting revenue from the bottom lines of casinos can be difficult. This adds an air of mystery to just how much sports gambling in The Badger State is making for tribal operators as well as the state itself.

Recently, though, a report from the Wisconsin Public Forum has provided insight into sports betting-specific numbers. And the results may help forecast the overarching direction of the Wisconsin sports betting market.

It Seems Wisconsin Sports Betting Generates at Least $10 Million Per Year in Tax Revue

Based on the report, which was conducted using “impartial policy research,” Wisconsin sports betting could be worth at least $10 million per year in additional tax revenue on its own. Jon Syf of The Center Square breaks it down below:

“Wisconsin currently gets annual tribal gaming payments based on revenue that tribal casinos make on table games such as blackjack, poker, craps and roulette. The state received between $50 million and $55 million annually in payments between 2013 and 2019 until the pandemic dropped that number to $8 million in 2019, according to the report. The past two years, however, those numbers rose to $66 million each year.”

This ebb and flow of casino gaming revenue gives us a rough estimate of the impact sports betting in Wisconsin has on the bottom line. Remember, sports wagering in the state did not launch until after the peak of COVID. If we assume casino gaming profits have returned to their pre-2019 baseline of $50 to $55 million, the increase to $66 million suggests sports betting is driving between $10 and $16 million of additional payments to the state.

Just to reiterate: This is a rough outline. We do not know how the payments are calculated. We also should not assume the annual uptick is entirely related to sports betting. Revenue from more traditional casino games may also be on the rise.

Still, this arms us with a ballpark snapshot of the Wisconsin sports betting industry. Even with its exact revenue unknown, there has been enough overall gambling revenue increases to understand it is, at the very least, a $10-million-per-year tax-payment driver.

Will This Financial Impact Increase the Calls to Legalize Online Sports Betting in Wisconsin?

Ever since Wisconsin sports betting launched in 2021, many have wondered how long it would take for the state to greenlight online wagering. There is clear interest among officials. Ditto for residents of Wisconsin, who have been known to cross state lines into Illinois to bet on sports. Tribal officials have even called the legalization of Wisconsin online sports betting an inevitable development.

Yet, concrete talks on the matter remain sparse. That gives the impression of a longer timeline. The Wisconsin Policy Forum report confirms as much.

Specifically, the document cites concerns about the constitutional amendment required to offer online betting. Support from lawmakers and voters may not actually be an issue. Figuring out how to renegotiate tribal gaming compacts is the bigger challenge.

“Such a step would likely forfeit the state’s revenues from tribal gaming payments, which totaled more than $66 million in 2024,” the report says (via The Center Square). “Thus, any consideration of new revenues from taxing this activity would also need to account for these losses as well as impacts to certain local governments in Wisconsin such as Milwaukee and Milwaukee County and the state’s 11 federally recognized tribes and their members.”

This is certainly a hurdle. Though, to be honest, it doesn’t feel like a particularly big one. The Seminole Tribe renegotiated its gaming compact to offer online sports betting in Florida. Both the tribe and state itself would have been facing the same challenges as Wisconsin.

It Remains Unclear Which Side Might Oppose Sports Betting Expansion in Wisconsin

To this end, it’s not clear which stakeholder will be more hesitant to undergo Wisconsin sports betting expansion. Our guess would be the casinos themselves.

Ponying up separate fees for sports betting rather than rolling it into their overall overhead may be a deal-breaker. That potentially changes if they are allowed to offer online sports betting off-property, much like the Seminole Tribe can in Florida.

At the same time, expansion also implies the introduction of online sportsbooks in the United States such as DraftKings, FanDuel, Fanatics, BetMGM, etc. That forges inherent challenges for casinos. They will not have the same brand recognition or level of resources to preserve their current monopoly over the sports betting market.

State officials could agree to simply legalize Wisconsin sports betting online for tribal betting apps. But that will all depend on how much more casinos are willing to pay for retention of their exclusivity. If they don’t want to incur much higher tax rates, policymakers will push for the inclusion of more operators to drum up the state’s revenue stream.

As you can tell, this is a delicate and potentially complicated matter. And it is one that doesn’t appear on the verge of reaching resolution in 2025.

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