AB601 makes online sports betting legal in Wisconsin under the federal Indian Gaming Regulatory Act of 1988.
The Senate passed AB601 on March 17, 2026, by a vote of 21 to 12. We have assigned pluses to the nays because this bill expands gambling in Wisconsin. Gambling, which was illegal in Wisconsin and most of the United States until the 1960s, is a form of property theft. It involves the fraudulent practice of taking money from someone else without providing any good or service in return. Gambling is not merely "wasteful gaming," but a dangerous vice that is rooted in covetousness and seeks dishonest gain. No person has a right to plunder his neighbor, or give his consent to surrender his property voluntarily if prompted by an illicit motive. A free-market economy is based on wealth that flows through just labor, skill, and stewardship. Contrary to God's moral law (i.e., Ten Commandments), gambling contributes nothing of value to society; rather, it leads only to a countless number of evils, including financial ruin, marital breakdown, corruption, crime, and suicide.
