Gambling enthusiasts in Wisconsin can finally place wagers on sports legally, thanks to the Oneida Nation’s new Class III gaming compact with the state. The first wager on sports was placed earlier this week, on 30th of November, at the Oneida Casino, a gaming venue owned and operated by federally recognized tribe of Oneida people. It is interesting to note here that the Oneida Casino Sportsbook is the first tribal casino in the state to commence sports betting.

The federally-recognized tribe signed a new gaming compact with the state in July, getting the right to operate sports betting. The terms of the new gaming compact took effect after Wisconsin’s Democratic Gov. Tony Evers and the Republican-controlled legislature of the state agreed upon it. Federal approval from the U.S. Department of the Interior’s Bureau of Indian Affairs also came in the same month.

The Oneida Bingo Queens, viz. Alma Webster and Sandra Brehmer who helped the tribe ion embarking into gaming back in the 1970s, were the first to place the very first sports bets yesterday at Oneida Casino Sportsbook the during the new facility’s grand opening ceremony. Each of the two placed $5 on the New Orleans Saints to beat the Dallas Cowboys in a game scheduled for Thursday Night Football.

Brehmer praised the tribal gaming property’s progress over the past decades. When asked for a comment, she said, “It’s awesome to think we’ve come this far to see this operation.”

To operate the new Sportsbook, the tribe has partnered with third-party sportsbook services provider International Gaming Technology and its turn-key platform called PlaySports. The gaming property offers more than a dozen self-service sports betting kiosks. Sportsbook team members help new bettors in understanding how it all works.

The Oneida Nation is the first tribe to open a sportsbook in the state, but it is obviously not the last. A number of other federally recognized tribes, which have already signed Class III gaming compacts with the state, have plans to enter the arena of sports betting sooner than later. One such tribe is the Potawatomi Nation.

It is interesting to note here that Wisconsin doesn’t have any commercial casinos. Actually, slot machines and table games in the “Badger State” are reserves for federally recognized tribes. Currently, there are 11 tribes owning and operating more than two dozen casinos across the state.