Wisconsin Online Sports Betting Seems More Likely

The Potawatomi Casino recently struck a partnership with a software gaming company that might signal they are preparing for the arrival of Wisconsin online sports betting.

This agreement is with White Hat Gaming, a company that classifies itself as a “state-of-the-art iGaming platform providing a secure, scalable and flexible modular Casino and Sportsbook Player Account Management.” Essentially, they can help operate online sportsbooks in Wisconsin.

Thoug this news was announced sometime in the spring, it is still raising eyebrows a couple of months later. After all, sports betting in Wisconsin currently doesn’t include an online element. That is by design. Policymakers did not want to infringe upon the business model of tribal nations by having top online sportsbooks in the United States enter the market and command huge market shares. It helps, too, that state tribes have exclusivity over gambling services, according to the terms of their gaming compact. Wisconsin online sports betting is not happening without their cooperation.

And yet, casino operators in The Badger State have openly admitted that Wisconsin online sports betting is an inevitability. Does the Potawatomi Casino’s deal with White Hat Gaming prove that said inevitability is now imminent? Let’s explore.

Here is Why the Potawatomi Casino Needed a Wisconsin Online Sports Betting Partner

First thing’s first: This deal does not have to signal anything about the larger outlook of Wisconsin online sports betting.

Per the terms of tribal gaming compacts, they can offer online sports betting apps and transactions to their customers—so long as those customers are on tribal property. While this narrows the scope of potential clients, since they must still visit the brick-and-mortar operation, it still allows them to have a Wisconsin online sports betting app. So if they want to maximize on-site convenience, a partnership with White Hat Gaming makes all the sense in the world. However, the software company may be playing a longer game here. Consider the details of this partnership, via Sam Bentham of CDC Gaming:

“Player account management platform provider White Hat Gaming has agreed to a multi-year deal with the Potawatomi Casino Hotel to support its online sports betting platform at its casinos in Milwaukee and Carter, Wisconsin. White Hat Gaming will use its technology to support mobile sports betting provided by Potawatomi Casino Hotel, including integrating payment options and real-time risk monitoring. Lawmakers haven’t legalized online sports betting in Wisconsin, but tribal gaming operators can provide sports betting on tribal land under existing gaming compacts. White Hat Gaming also will integrate its Traveling Wallet technology, which allows players to play in multiple jurisdictions with one account.”

Two things stand out from this synopsis more than anything else: the fact it's a multiyear agreement, and White Hat Gaming integrating its multiple jurisdiction technology. The company does not feel like it would tie itself so tightly to a market that’s not on course to imminently debut online sports betting. Sure, they could be rolling the dice. But these terms are still worth clocking for the near future.

Many are Already Wondering If Florida Sports Betting Can be the Model for Wisconsin

Plenty of people will think we’re reading too much into these details. And look, they might be correct. But online sports betting in the United States counts for an overwhelming majority of revenue in the industry. It would make sense that casinos in Wisconsin are looking to capitalize on it.

Of course, skeptics will point to the length process required to do so. That is fair. It also may be why the White Hat Gaming deal is for so many years. What’s more, though, is Florida sports betting provides a roadmap to online acceleration.

Much like tribes in Wisconsin, the Seminole Tribe’s gaming compact with The Sunshine State only allows for sports betting on tribal property, with the same online limitations The Badger State has in place. Over the years, however, the Seminoles have successfully argued that their Florida online sports betting app (run in partnership with Hard Rock Bet) is an extension of their tribal property, because that’s where the servers running it are located.

This interpretation of tribal property has not held up without contest. The tribe, along with the state of Florida, spent years battling a lawsuit against West Flagler Associates. There is an even more current lawsuit on the table now. And yet, their interpretation of the gaming compact language is holding firm. As a result, the Seminole Tribe offers Florida online sports betting to everyone in the state, no matter where they are located.

Is this a plausible path for Wisconsin online sports betting to follow? The answer is complicated. In Florida’s case, only one tribe has sports betting rights. That makes it easier to champion uniform approaches. Wisconsin has multiple federally recognized tribes that must be on board.

In the end, it’s not really that daunting. The Badger State has 11 tribes, and only a fraction of them have sports betting clearances. If operators want to push for Wisconsin online sports betting, it shouldn’t be too difficult to do so. Is that perhaps what the White Hate Gaming deal portends? We can’t be sure. But rest assured, it’s a distinct possibility.

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