(The Center Square) – One of the sponsors of Wisconsin’s statewide sports wagering legislation is warning prediction markets could take over the sports wagering marketplace if state lawmakers don’t pass a law in the Assembly Wednesday allowing the state’s 11 tribes to offer online sports wagering in the state.
“If we leave a gray area in state law, national prediction platforms will fill it without our compact framework, Wisconsin oversight, or Wisconsin consumer safeguards,” wrote Rep. Tyler August, R-Walworth. “AB 601 does the opposite: it channels activity into a regulated, Wisconsin-based, compacted environment with clear jurisdiction and accountability. This protects consumers, respects tribal sovereignty, and keeps revenue tied to Wisconsin operations rather than flowing to unaligned national apps.”
The proposal would also need to be approved by the Senate and signed by Gov. Tony Evers, who has indicated he would approve of a bill keeping gaming with the tribes.
The proposal would change the state’s definition of “bet” to allow the tribes to offer mobile sports wagering as long as the better is in Wisconsin and the sportsbook servers are on tribal land, an amendment to current compacts allowing for casino gambling and sports wagering on tribal lands despite the state’s ban on betting.
Prediction markets, however, have taken off this fall during football season with offerings very similar to sportsbooks where operators such as Kalshi and Polymarket offer what they call event contracts where users pick a side in a matchup or election and put their money behind that side against other users.
Those markets are regulated federally through the Commodity Futures Trading Commission and do not require separate state taxes that Wisconsin would receive while the tribes would pay the state a revenue share based upon amended compacts that would have to be approved by the U.S. Department of Interior.
Kalshi, for instance, saw $230.2 million in activity on Week 11 NFL football alone and an overall $1.3 billion in activity the week of Nov. 3, up from $900 million in the first full week of October.
Both FanDuel and DraftKings recently announced they are quitting the American Gaming Association and will put large investments toward prediction markets in states without legalized mobile sports wagering.
“While we debate a narrow clarification that keeps wagering inside Wisconsin’s compact system, large national platforms are racing to roll out ‘prediction market’ apps that let users trade real-money contracts on sports, politics, and economic data,” August wrote.
August’s memo to fellow lawmakers included a 15-page response to legal questions about the bill from Attorney Ryan Walsh on behalf of the Forest County Potawatomi Community.
He argued the bill doesn’t change anything legally and it just amends the current pacts between tribes and the state, which is allowable.
“In my view, the Bill and associated compacts would not violate any provision of the U.S. Constitution, federal law, or the Wisconsin Constitution and should be upheld in any litigation,” Walsh wrote.
He said that Equal Protection Clause claims that the tribes are being treated differently due to race are no different than the current gambling pacts in the state and that the bill is not the Legislature creating a bill to allow for gambling but instead is simply allowing for an amendment to the agreements already in place.
The Sports Betting Alliance – which represents DraftKings, FanDuel, BetMGM, Fanatics and Bet365 – has said it supports Wisconsin increasing its mobile sports wagering to statewide but believes the state should allow for a change that would allow those companies to work with the tribes and pay less than the 60% of gross revenue required by the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act for its services, an amount that SBA Counsel Damon Stewart said would be too much to allow those companies to operate in the state.
“I think our citizens in Wisconsin are better served by keeping this new platform within our current gambling structure,” Rep. Robert Wittke, R-Caledonia, said as the bill was approved in committee.

(The Center Square) – The Wisconsin Senate voted 22-11 on Tuesday to make the Wisconsin Interscholastic Athletic Association subject to open meetings and public records.
The private organization that governs high school athletics for the state’s public and private schools has fought the legislation, saying it is private and does not accept tax money.
The legislation would have to also pass the Assembly and be signed by Gov. Tony Evers before becoming law.
The group makes most of its funding from “host tournaments and through private donations” which includes hosting events featuring public high school teams at public high schools and making eligibility decisions on athletes.
Executive Director Stephanie Hauser told a committee previously that those eligibility decisions can become controversial and “I think we’re going to get pummeled with them” regarding public records requests.
Those advocating for the rules, however, believe that the WIAA needs more transparency on its decision-making authority over public high school athletes.
Hauser told a committee that “subjecting a private organization to open records policies is akin to forcing a church, small business or any other sort of private organization to such policies.”
The WIAA noted in a letter against the bill that former Gov. Scott Walker vetoed a similar bill in 2015 and Evers vetoed one in 2021.
The Wisconsin Institute for Law and Liberty advocated for the bill, saying the Legislature has never granted power over public school athletics to the WIAA.
“WIAA is a nominally private membership association that exercises governmental power by playing gatekeeper over interscholastic athletics, a government-provided benefit,” WILL wrote.
After the vote, WILL Attorney Lucas Vebber wrote a post applauding the vote, which came after no debate on the bill.
“A great bipartisan group of state senators just voted to advance legislation to ensure the WIAA complies with the public records law. Long overdue legislation,” Vebber wrote.

(The Center Square) – There’s a plea offer on the table in Judge Hannah Dugan’s case.
New Interim U.S. Attorney in Milwaukee Brad Schimel said he’s been briefed on the case and says there is an offer.
He said, however, that Dugan’s attorneys have not accepted that offer. Schimel says the two sides continue to negotiate.
Dugan is scheduled to go on trial next month on federal felony charges that accuse her of helping an illegal immigrant avoid ICE agents at the Milwaukee County courthouse in April.
Schimel is not saying what the plea offer from his office includes.
Schimel is not personally handling the case, other prosecutors in his office are. But Schimel is the new, top federal prosecutor in Milwaukee.
The Trump Administration named Schimel as interim U.S. attorney on Monday. He previously served as Wisconsin attorney general, and as a Waukesha County circuit judge. Back heavily by President Donald Trump and Elon Musk, Schimel also ran for Wisconsin Supreme Court in November, but was easily beaten by liberal Susan Crawford to help liberals maintain a majority on the court.
It appears that race kept Schimel from getting a permanent nomination.
Wisconsin’s Democrat U.S. Sen. Tammy Baldwin on Monday referenced the race in her opposition to Schimel’s new role.
“Brad Schimel was soundly rejected twice by Wisconsinites because they knew he would play politics with the law, not deliver justice fairly for everyone – and he has no business being a top prosecutor in Wisconsin,” Baldwin said in a statement. “As President Trump politicizes our justice system, it is more important than ever that the people serving in the courts and on the bench are committed to upholding the rule of law, not loyalty to the President.”
The Trump Administration ignored Wisconsin’s bipartisan judicial nominating process, and Baldwin did not sign-off on Schimel’s appointment.
“The Trump administration has skirted this law to keep in place other U.S. Attorneys, who were ardent supporters of the President, in place longer than the legally limited 120 days,” she added.
Schimel could be reappointed in 120 days, or he could see an up or down vote in the U.S. Senate.

(The Center Square) – Wisconsin’s Republican Senate leadership said it would be back in session in November with a full slate of bills and they will do as promised on Tuesday morning, with a scheule including action on 68 different bills or resolutions.
The bills include everything from legislating free speech as Wisconsin’s public universities and technical colleges to making the state’s high school sports association subject to open meetings and public records law.
The Assembly will then meet on Wednesday when it votes on a law that would allow sports wagering to expand across the state through the state’s tribes despite questions on whether that law will violate the Wisconsin Constitution.
The Assembly is also set to vote on five bills related to school consolidation that included a $1,500 per student one-time payment for districts that consolidate in the three years starting in 2027.
The Wisconsin Interscholastic Athletic Association argued against the law change, claiming it would “get pummeled” with requests. The group said it is private and does not accept tax money but bill proponents are calling for transparency from the group that legislates how public school conduct high school sports.
The bills include one to prevent the University of Wisconsin system from charging an online course fee unless the school can show actual costs directly related to offering the course online.
The Senate calendar also includes legislation limiting which dogs are considered service dogs, blocking local guaranteed income programs, day care video monitoring rules and increasing the penalties for disarming or impersonating law enforcement.
The Assembly calendar includes a series of bills from Rep. Scott Krug, R-Rome, including a Monday absentee vote count bill that he said in committee he did not believe would pass this year.

(The Center Square) – Gov. Tony Evers isn’t on board with Wisconsin’s proposed anti-grooming legislation.
In a weekend appearance on UpFront, the governor, who is both a former teacher and a former state superintendent of schools, said he doesn’t want to turn teachers into robots.
“[Teachers] are not police officers. They are not D.A.s,” Evers said. He added he probably won’t sign the plan. “If it’s going to stop teachers from maybe putting their arm around a kid when they are hurting, probably not.”
The Cap Times reported last month that Wisconsin’s Department of Public Instruction, which Evers used to lead, investigated 200 teachers over a five-year period for grooming or sexual misconduct.
Evers said the problem is defining grooming.
“The issue of grooming is very difficult,” the governor said. “I remember when I was state superintendent, we went through some things to make [the laws] more thoughtful and helpful. But at the end of the day, grooming is something that is hard to define. And if we want it to be against the law, we need to identify what it is.”
The Cap Times last week revealed that Evers introduced grooming reforms while he was state superintendent, but those reforms were scrapped because of unidentified “pushback.”
“[It was] grooming, grooming, grooming, and then teachers will say ‘I can’t do this? I can’t do that?’” the governor added. “If we believe we can find a good definition for grooming, and it’s against the law, that will change everything. It’s just a very difficult thing to find.”
Rep. Amanda Nedweski, R-Pleasant Prairie, who is driving the anti- grooming legislation didn’t buy the governor’s reluctance.
“This statement from @GovEvers is ridiculous. Here is how grooming is defined in the bill (which he clearly has not read),” she wrote on X. “Absolutely nothing in this bill prohibits teachers from giving a kid a hug when they’re having a bad day. It’s about protecting kids from predators & abuse.”

(The Center Square) – The Mequon Police Department told The Center Square on Monday that there was one additional burglary over the weekend related to a string of recent burglaries of area homes. The burglary was reported on Monday morning.
The department alerted other area police departments of the burglaries last week, saying it believes that an organization out of South America has coordinated property thefts at area homes during the early evening hours on Thursdays through Sundays after entering homes through the backyard.
The department shared video of the incidents with The Center Square.
Mequon Police Operations Commander John Hoell told The Center Square that there are similarities between the recent burglaries and a burglary of the home of Milwaukee Bucks player Bobby Portis, which happened a year ago in River Hills during a Bucks game when nearly $1,500 worth of items were stolen.
That burglary was believed to be part of a string of high profile athlete burglaries from a Chilean South American theft group that led to charges against seven Chilean nationals for more than $2 million worth of items from athletes including Portis, Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce and quarterback Patrick Mahomes, Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow and unnamed Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Memphis Grizzlies players.
Mequon says that it alerted the other departments in a regional information-sharing meeting last Wednesday.
“The homes were often on cul-de-sacs or dead-end roads, near wooded areas or golf courses, and unoccupied at the time of the break-in,” the department said.
Items stolen included jewelry, watches, designer purses and cash.
Police believe the burglars used trail cams and monitoring devices to monitor comings and goings of residents.
Police said that audible security systems and exterior cameras are a deterrent and asked residents to always activate the alarms and cameras when they leave home, even for a short time.
Residents are asked to contact the Mequon Police Department on its non-emergency number at 262-242-3500 immediately if suspicious activity is observed and, if it is safe to do so, obtain and provide a description of clothing and the vehicle’s license plate, make, model and color.
U.S. Rep. Tom Tiffany, R-7th Congressional, said that the burglaries are a result of poor border policy.
“This is what Democrats imported into our country, and now not a single Democrat running for governor will condemn it or support removing these criminals from our communities,” Tiffany said in a statement. “I have fought for strong border security for years on the House Judiciary Committee. As governor, I will ban sanctuary jurisdictions and work with federal and local law enforcement to make Wisconsin safe again.”

(The Center Square) – Wisconsin continues to look at the future of
driverless cars and trucks in the state.
The Wisconsin Department of Transportation’s Automated Vehicle External Advisory Committee is tasked with taking the first steps toward likely future automated vehicle regulations.
But no one is saying what those regulations will look like.
A recent hearing focused mainly on the data that Wisconsin, and other states, currently have from the new technology that is already in cars, trucks, buses and other vehicles.
“Vehicle telematic data can…better inform local agencies on traffic incident response needs,” Wis-DOT said in its announcement. “In a snowstorm, for example, recognizing areas where vehicles are slowing down, turning on their wipers, or changing lanes can help get snowplows or crash teams out to respond, improving safety and reducing traffic congestion.”
Wis-DOT managers say there is a lot to learn from that data. The agency also says there is a lot to like, and a lot to worry about, as more cars, trucks, and buses become more automated.
“WisDOT is committed to exploring emerging technologies that will help us develop a safe and efficient transportation system for the 21st century,” said Wis-DOT’s Lea Collins-Worachek. “Vehicle telematics is a promising tool that has the potential to revolutionize so many aspects of our work, but we must ensure we’re using it wisely.”
Wisconsin has been studying automated vehicles through the WAVE committee since 2020. The committee has met nearly a dozen times since but no one is saying when the committee may have formal or final recommendations.

(The Center Square) – Meta’s new $1 billion artificial intelligence data center in Beaver Dam will have 100 operational jobs once it comes online in 2027, the company announced.
The project will be eligible to be part of a tax increment district, meaning additional property taxes collected at the site due to its increase value after construction, won’t go to the local government and instead will be collected and retained by Meta for up to 20 years.
The Beaver Dam project was a specific part of a law approved earlier this year allowing municipalities to waive a 12% cap on TID projects within a municipality for qualified data centers.
The project is also eligible for a sales tax exemption on construction materials, electricity and equipment within the data center, a state exemption that has already far exceeded fiscal expectations by costing the state $70 million in sales tax in the first two years since implementation.
Meta says that it will cover $200 million in energy infrastructure for the project including network upgrades, utility substations and transmission lines.
The company said that more than 1,000 workers will be at the site during peak construction.
“Once operational, the Beaver Dam data center will be optimized for our expanding AI workloads, supporting our growing fleet of industry-leading AI infrastructure, and setting us up to deliver the future of AI innovation,” Meta said about the project.

(The Center Square) – Wisconsin’s Public Service Commission approved a pair of residential electricity rate hikes last week, including 13.9% for Alliant Energy over two years and 20% for Xcel Energy.
The Alliant natural gas rate will increase nearly 11% while Xcel Energy’s was 14%.
The group is set to vote on an increase for Madison Gas and Electric on Nov. 20. The increases will go into effect Jan. 1.
That means that the commission has approved more than $2 billion in electric and natural gas rate increases since Gov. Tony Evers became governor, according to Americans for Prosperity – Wisconsin.
“Skyrocketing energy bills are hurting Wisconsin families, renters, and small business owners already struggling to make ends meet, pushing the American Dream further out of reach,” AFP-Wisconsin Legislative Director Jerry Ponio said. Today, our state ranks among the highest in the Midwest for electric rates – proof that the current system under Evers is broken.”
Alliant said that its rate increase would amount to an average residential electrical monthly bill increases of about $6 a month in 2026 and another $8 a month in 2027. The increase would be $3 a month to the average residential natural gas customer’s bill in 2026, and about $3 a month in 2027, Alliant said.
Alliant received a 12% electricity rate increase and 9.86% for gas rates in 2023.
“Wisconsin needs leadership that puts people ahead of utility profits—and AFP-WI is leading the charge,” Ponio said. “Through grassroots action, we’ll keep pressing for the accountability families deserve and fight for energy policies that put consumers first.”

(The Center Square) – A group of five Wisconsin K-12 school consolidation bills passed an Assembly committee after slight modifications on Thursday.
One bill was amended to give a one-time $1,500 per student payment for schools that consolidate in 2027, 2028 and 2029 before providing $650 per student in the second year and then $150 per student in the next three years to help the schools through the process.
The bill was amended after school districts testified at a public hearing on Tuesday saying that 2026 would be too soon for schools to consolidate.
“It’s the same amount of money but it would make it easier for budgets,” said Rep. Joel Kitchens, R-Sturgeon Bay.
Rep. Joe Sheehan, D-Sheboygan, said that the most important part of the bills for him were feasibility studies, including a statewide study and local studies costing up to $25,000. Sheehan voted for the feasibility studies but did not support the other consolidation bills.
Rep. Angelina Cruz, D-Racine, voiced opposition to the bills, saying “closing schools de-stabilizes communities.”
The measures are aimed at helping school districts use consolidation to combat decreased enrollments and aging buildings across the state. Public school enrollment in Wisconsin is expected to decline by 200,000 students by 2050. The state has seen an estimated 10,000 fewer students each year.
The bills also include grants for districts that consolidate but have differing levy limits and school board consolidation grants of $500 per student for whole grade sharing.
Kitchens reiterated that the bills are funding for voluntary consolidations and that “no one is calling for schools to board up their windows” after Cruz said that the bills were asking for schools to do that.
Kitchens compared the bills to efforts to fix Social Security issues on a national level with many knowing it is an issue but efforts to fix the issue leading to complaints, saying “lead, follow or get out of the way.”
“We are giving options to schools because we know, down the line, that has to happen,” Kitchens said. “Let’s give them the tools.”

(The Center Square) – Wisconsin’s members of Congress all voted as expected on the plan to reopen the government.
The state’s two Democrats, Mark Pocan from Madison and Gwen Moore from Milwaukee, Wednesday night voted against the plan.
“I voted no on a bill that fails the American people. This legislation does nothing to extend the Affordable Care Act tax credits that keep health care affordable for more than 22 million Americans,” Pocan said on social media.
“I won’t vote for legislation that does nothing to address the health care crisis Republicans have inflicted on the American people,” Moore said before the vote. “They passed tax giveaways for billionaires and billions in Medicaid cuts without my vote, so they can pass this without my vote too.”
Wisconsin’s six Republicans in Congress all voted to reopen the government.
“There was no reason our government should have been shut down in the first place,” Congressman Bryan Steil said Wednesday night. “Democrats fought for over a month to keep our government shut down, causing chaos for working families.”
“After 43 long days this vote ensures our service members and federal workers finally get paid, and that we resume critical services for and struggling American families,” Congressman Tony Wied said in a statement. “House Republicans got the job done.”
“This reckless approach put critical programs and hard-working Americans at risk for no reason,” Congressman Glenn Grothman said. “As we look ahead to January 31, I hope Democratic leadership will put governing ahead of political games.”
But that may not be part of the plan.
Wisconsin’s Democratic U.S. Sen. Tammy Baldwin, who on Sunday voted against reopening the government, said X that “this fight isn’t over.”
President Trump signed the government funding plan late Wednesday night, officially reopening the government.