Wisconsin
WI voters want a say on issue of online sports betting | Opinion
Wisconsin cannot gamble with sports betting. As former attorney general, I join the people of Wisconsin who have real concerns about the constitutionality of this plan.
Video gambling machines common in Wisconsin; tribal leaders concerned
While tavern owners see gambling machines as a source of needed revenue, tribal leaders view them as an unregulated intrusion on their gaming rights.
As the Assembly and Senate get ready to adjourn session in Madison for 2026, state legislative leaders are working behind closed doors on a deal to legalize online sports betting and give the Indigenous tribes exclusive control.
New polling shows Wisconsinites are skeptical of the Legislature’s current plan, and for good reason. While voters aren’t uniformly opposed to online sports wagering, they strongly oppose a framework that grants exclusive control to tribal nations, limits competition, and bypasses direct voter approval. Sixty percent of likely voters oppose giving tribes a monopoly, and 86 percent believe a decision of this magnitude should be decided by the people through a constitutional amendment or referendum. (Note: Polling figures cited are from The Tarrance Group.)
The legislation under consideration would create an unfair monopoly on online sports betting in Wisconsin. Rather than allowing well-known operators like FanDuel or DraftKings to compete in an open marketplace, the state would grant Native American tribes exclusive control as a way to try to circumvent the constitution. This approach stifles competition, limits consumer choice, and allows the monopoly holder to operate without meaningful oversight, a setup that is neither fair nor economically responsible.
Wisconsin stands to lose money on this
Beyond the monopoly problem, the current bills bypass the benefits free-market online sports betting can bring to states. In other states, competitive frameworks have strengthened local economies and generated tens of millions in revenue. Instead, Wisconsin could lose an estimated $400 million over the next five years because the legislation attempts to skirt our constitutional limits rather than address them directly.
Most importantly, as the former Attorney General of Wisconsin, I join the people of Wisconsin who have real concerns about the constitutionality of this plan. Legislators should never endorse or attempt to undermine Wisconsin’s Constitution, the foundation of our state. Article IV, Section 24 of the Wisconsin Constitution broadly prohibits the Legislature from authorizing gambling outside specific, voter-approved exceptions. The people of Wisconsin have repeatedly reaffirmed this principle through amendments over decades, making clear decisions of this magnitude rest with the voters, not the Legislature or the governor.
Wisconsin has seen the consequences of concentrated authority before. In the 1990s and 2000s, the state granted Democratic governor Jim Doyle broad authority to reopen and amend tribal gaming compacts. These decisions ultimately created perpetual privileges for tribes and limited the state’s ability to regulate gaming in line with constitutional and public interests. Later court rulings upheld some expansions despite weak legal grounds, leaving Wisconsin with a system that prioritizes a single party’s contractual interests over the people’s sovereign will.
Legislators seem ready to repeat mistakes
Today, legislators appear ready to repeat that mistake by relying on unsettled legal comparisons, such as Florida’s compact litigation, to justify extending tribal betting privileges statewide. But Florida’s situation is not Wisconsin’s. Using it as cover to bypass our own constitutional limits is legislative overreach, plain and simple.
The push to legalize online sports betting nationally has grown, but the stakes in Wisconsin are too high to get this wrong. The numbers don’t lie, the voters want a say in this matter. This backroom deal being dealt in Madison is bad news. The first rule of gambling is remembering the house always wins. In this case, the “house” should be the people of Wisconsin, and the state must ensure it remains in control of its own policy.
JB Van Hollen is the former Attorney General of Wisconsin.
About 1,000 animal welfare activists who tried to gain entry on Saturday to a beagle breeding and research facility in Wisconsin were turned back by police who fired rubber bullets and pepper spray into the crowd and arrested the group’s leader.
It was the second attempt in as many months by protesters to take beagles from the Ridglan Farms facility in Blue Mounds, a small town about 25 miles (about 40 kilometres) southwest of Wisconsin’s capital, Madison.
Dane County Sheriff Kalvin Barrett said in a video statement that 300 to 400 protesters were “violently trying to break into the property” and assault officers. He said protesters have ignored designated areas for peaceful protest and blocked roads to prevent emergency vehicles from entering.
“This is not a peaceful protest,” Barrett said.
The sheriff’s department said a “significant” number of people were arrested out of about 1,000 protesters at the site but did not give an exact total as they were still being processed as of the afternoon.
Protesters tried to overcome barricades that included a manure-filled trench, hay bales and a barbed-wire fence. Some protesters did get through the fence but were unable to enter the facility, where an estimated 2,000 beagles are kept, the Wisconsin State Journal reported.
Wisconsin guard Andrew Rohde reflects on early March Madness exit
Wisconsin guard Andrew Rohde said the Badgers ‘thought we could do so many things’ in the NCAA Tournament before it ended abrupty with an upset loss.
Wisconsin men’s basketball has added a sharpshooting wing via the transfer portal.
Miami (Ohio) transfer Eian Elmer has signed with the Badgers, the team announced April 18. The 6-foot-7 wing will join UW with one year of eligibility remaining.
Elmer averaged a career-high 12.7 points and 5.9 rebounds while shooting 49.8% from the field and 42.9% from 3-point range in 2025-26. His production helped the RedHawks go 32-2 and earn an at-large NCAA Tournament bid.
“We are really excited to add another excellent addition to our spring signees,” UW coach Greg Gard said in a release. “Eian brings a wealth of experience and scoring punch as a 6-7 wing. … A terrific shooter, his skillset and production fit excellently into our plan as we build out next year’s team. Throughout our evaluation process, our staff loved his size, power and skill and truly believe he will thrive in our system.”
Elmer is Wisconsin’s third transfer portal addition since the end of the 2025-26 season, joining former George Washington guard Trey Autry and former Hofstra forward Victory Onuetu. UW also added Australian guard Owen Foxwell.
The additions of Autry, Onuetu and now Elmer leave Gard’s staff with three more roster spots to fill ahead of the 2026-27 season.
The Badgers are looking to replace much of their production from a 2025-26 team that went 24-11. Nolan Winter is expected to be the team’s only returning starter after John Blackwell and Aleksas Bieliauskas entered the transfer portal and Nick Boyd and Andrew Rohde exhausted their eligibility.
MILWAUKEE – Friday’s severe storms have passed. And with that, the threat of any severe weather has also passed for the immediate future as no storms or rain are expected for several days.
However, plenty of damage remains across southeastern Wisconsin as of Saturday morning, in addition to the ongoing flooding threat.
Several area rivers are at flood stage, and there are multiple river flood warnings in effect.
FOX6 Weekend WakeUp on Saturday begins at 6 a.m.
On the scene in the morning
What we know:
Farmstead damage in Franklin
FOX6’s Hayley Spitler is in Franklin on Saturday morning, April 18, getting a daylight look at the damage from last night’s storms.
Storm damage in Caledonia
Friday’s storms left quite the mark across southern and southeastern Wisconsin, including at L and L Farms and Greenhouse in Caledonia.
FOX6 Weather Extras
Local perspective:
Meanwhile, FOX6Now.com offers a variety of extremely useful weather tools to help you navigate the stormy season. They include the following:
FOX6 Storm Center app
FOX LOCAL Mobile app
FOX Weather app
Maps and radar
We have a host of maps and radars on the FOX6 Weather page that are updating regularly — to provide you the most accurate assessment of the weather. From a county-by-county view to the Midwest regional radar and a national view — it’s all there.
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School and business closings
When the weather gets a little dicey, schools and businesses may shut down. Monitor the latest list of closings, cancellations, and delays reported in southeast Wisconsin.
FOX6 Weather Experts in social media
The Source: Information in this post was compiled by the FOX6 Weather Experts.
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