TLDR Eight Native American tribes have joined a lawsuit over Wisconsin’s new online sports betting law. A Waukesha County judge approved their requests at a hearing on November 9, 2026. Oral arguments are set for April 20, 2027, and a ruling is unlikely before May. The law would allow statewide mobile betting through servers on tribal land. The group WILL says it will amend its lawsuit to add race-based arguments.
Eight Native American tribes in Wisconsin will now help defend the state’s new online sports betting law in court. A judge approved their requests to join the lawsuit during a hearing on November 9, 2026.
The decision comes with a longer court schedule. Any ruling on whether mobile sports betting can move forward in Wisconsin is unlikely before May 2027, according to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
Eight Tribes Enter the Case
The tribes joining the case include the Oneida Nation and the Menominee Indian Tribe of Wisconsin. The Bad River Ojibwe, Forest County Potawatomi, Ho-Chunk, Red Cliff Ojibwe, Mole Lake Ojibwe, and Stockbridge-Munsee Mohican also asked to take part.
No one objected to their participation at the hearing. Judge J. Arthur Melvin of the Waukesha County Circuit Court approved the requests and set a new timetable for the case.
Under that plan, legal briefs will be filed in February and March. Oral arguments are scheduled for April 20, 2027.
The law at the center of the dispute was signed by Governor Tony Evers in April. It allows the state to negotiate agreements with tribal nations to run online sports betting statewide.
Wisconsin Tribal Sports Betting Law Faces May 2027 Court Ruling @Deadspinhttps://t.co/7OluNGA1eW pic.twitter.com/y2hiOz0ji2
— Frank Ammirante (@FAmmiranteTFJ) November 10, 2026
Right now, Wisconsin residents can place sports bets only at casinos on tribal land.