Commercial Gambling Devices in Milwaukee Bars and Taverns: For Entertainment Use Only? Commercial gambling is illegal in Wisconsin with a few very specific exceptions. The Wisconsin Department of Revenue is responsible for enforcing the laws yet countless video poker machines and slot games can be found in bars and restaurants across the state. While Wisconsin gambling laws allow betting on dog racing and a few riverboat casinos, most other types of gambling are prohibited in the state. Bona fide contests of skill like snowmobile racing are legal, as are bingo, raffles, and other charitable games. The specifics of Wisconsin gambling laws are listed in the table below.
- Casino Gambling: Legal
- Poker: Not Legal
- Horse Racing Betting: OTB only
- Dog Racing Betting: OTB only
- Lottery: Legal
- Daily Fantasy Sports: Not Specified
- Charitable Gaming: Legal
- Social Gambling: Not Legal
- Online Gambling: Not Legal
When people think of Wisconsin, the most likely images to pop into their heads are cheese and the Green Bay Packers. While there's no denying that both of these play a major role in the day-to-day lives of residents, the state also has a number of gambling opportunities to keep the locals entertained.
The growth of the gambling industry within Wisconsin marks a major shift in attitude and policy since the state's admission into the Union in 1848. Their original constitution made any type of lottery perpetually illegal, and all gambling debts were ruled uncollectable a decade later. Near the turn of the century, wagering on any content between men or beasts was also made illegal.
This anti-gambling attitude remained in place for nearly a century, but it slowly began to change in the 1970s. Both charitable raffles and bingo were approved by voters in the decade of disco, and 1987 saw the arrival of a state lottery and pari-mutuel wagering. Five years later, the first compacts regarding tribal gaming came into being.
While gambling within the state remains popular, the overall enthusiasm has cooled slightly. The last race track closed in 2009 due to faltering attendance, and in early 2015 Governor Scott Walker rejected a proposed off-reservation casino from the Menominee Tribe. Unfortunately, the latter may have been less about a lack of interest and more about Walker's presidential aspirations and the desire of the Ho-Chunk and Potawatomi tribes to shut down a potential rival for casino revenue.
The information in the box below is designed to give you some context for the information we're going to share about the gambling laws of Wisconsin. We think you'll find the key info shared below very interesting. For starters, check out the vast difference between the annual gambling revenue of the state's tribal casinos and other gambling venues and the tiny amount of money the state earns from taxing gaming. Wisconsin taxes gambling venues at a lower rate than just about any other US state. Read on for some more facts about the Wisconsin gambling industry.
- Age Requirements: 18 if no liquor served, otherwise 21
- Approximate Annual Gambling Revenue: $1 billion
- Approximate Annual Gambling Taxes: $24 million
- Number of Commercial Casinos: 0
- Number of Racinos: 0
- Number of Tribal Casinos: 22
- Casino Regulatory Body: Wisconsin Division of Administration – Gaming
- Lottery National Rankings: 32nd
Pay close attention to our take on Wisconsin's gambling laws – the state is quite explicit about most of its gaming codes, and if you want to gamble on the right side of the law, you'll want to absorb every bit we share. Of course, we aren't lawyers, and we don't share this information for any reason other than education. If you have a genuine concern about gaming law and you live in Wisconsin, we recommend that you speak with a lawyer, preferably one with gaming experience.
'Bar Month' at OnMilwaukee.com is back for another round! The whole month of February, we're serving up intoxicatingly fun bars and club articles -- including guides, unique features, drink recipes and more. Grab a designated driver and dive in!
At bars all over the Milwaukee area, patrons sit down, order a drink and take their chances at a video gambling machine.
In just about every bar, you can find one of these machines. And for every machine, there is at least one patron willing to dump in money for hours on end, despite labels proclaiming 'for entertainment use only.'
Many times, though, the label is as decorative as beer advertisements on the wall. The fact is a large percentage of bars offer payouts for gamblers, in direct violation of Wisconsin state statutes.
Under a 1999 agreement that reduced penalties for operating illegal machines, enforcement is now handled solely by the state Department of Revenue, which makes sure bar, restaurant and hotel owners are paying appropriate taxes on revenue generated by machines.
Before then-Gov. Tommy Thompson revised the state law, violators faced felony charges, fines of up to $10,000, loss of liquor license and prison time. The current state law allows bars to have up to five video poker machines and paying out winnings is a civil offense, carrying a $500 fine and no loss of license.
Bars with more than five machines, however, could face criminal charges, according to Department of Revenue Communications Officer Jessica Iverson.
Regulating the machines is big business for the DOR, which has brought in nearly $23 million in taxes since the law went into effect in 2003. Proceeds generated through video gaming machines are taxable income, and the gross receipts are subject to the state's sales tax.
To keep things in check, the department relies heavily on tax audits and also enlists the help of Alcohol and Tobacco Enforcement agents.
Wisconsin Gambling Machines In Bars
'Our ATF agents come across the illegal machines through the course of normal inspection as well as in the course of investigating other tobacco or alcohol law violations,' Iverson says. 'We also, of course, conduct tax audits of businesses. If auditors identify gambling operations during the course of those audits, they will enlist the help of ATF agents to enforce that part of the statute, as well.'
In addition to the tax implications, the Wisconsin statute 945.01 (c) makes it illegal to operate any machine that affords a player to win something of value determined by a game of chance.
The threat of audits, fines and licensing issues aside, bar owners are willing to make the illegal payments because the machines bring in a big chunk of money.
'People sit down when they're bored,' said one bar owner who spoke with OnMilwaukee.com under the condition of anonymity. 'They're more inclined to spend more time and buy more drinks when they're at the machines and have a chance to win some money.
'A lot of people, if there's nobody at the bar, will sit at a machine and make a couple bucks to pass the time.'
At this particular establishment, players receive a ticket when done that they can redeem at the bar for their winnings. The bar owner knows he's taking a chance, but there's big money to be made, especially important in the current economy.
'It's a little bit scary, yeah,' he said. 'But it's a risk you take.'
Earlier in the decade, the Tavern League supported a measure introduced by Rep. Terry Musser (R-River Falls) that would have legalized the machines, generating as much as $380 million in revenue. Other supporters of the bill wanted to prevent Wisconsin Native American tribes, legally operating casinos under a compact with the state, from having a monopoly on gaming.
Some states are reconsidering their stances on video gambling in an effort to patch up growing budget deficits.
In Pennsylvania, Gov. Ed Rendell proposed legalizing some forms of video gambling as a means to fund free college tuitions at the 28 campuses in his state. Officials there estimate that roughly 17,000 video poker machines are operating illegally. Those machines, if legalized, could generate as much as $550 million, according to Gov. Rendell's plan.
- Age Requirements: 18 if no liquor served, otherwise 21
- Approximate Annual Gambling Revenue: $1 billion
- Approximate Annual Gambling Taxes: $24 million
- Number of Commercial Casinos: 0
- Number of Racinos: 0
- Number of Tribal Casinos: 22
- Casino Regulatory Body: Wisconsin Division of Administration – Gaming
- Lottery National Rankings: 32nd
Pay close attention to our take on Wisconsin's gambling laws – the state is quite explicit about most of its gaming codes, and if you want to gamble on the right side of the law, you'll want to absorb every bit we share. Of course, we aren't lawyers, and we don't share this information for any reason other than education. If you have a genuine concern about gaming law and you live in Wisconsin, we recommend that you speak with a lawyer, preferably one with gaming experience.
'Bar Month' at OnMilwaukee.com is back for another round! The whole month of February, we're serving up intoxicatingly fun bars and club articles -- including guides, unique features, drink recipes and more. Grab a designated driver and dive in!
At bars all over the Milwaukee area, patrons sit down, order a drink and take their chances at a video gambling machine.
In just about every bar, you can find one of these machines. And for every machine, there is at least one patron willing to dump in money for hours on end, despite labels proclaiming 'for entertainment use only.'
Many times, though, the label is as decorative as beer advertisements on the wall. The fact is a large percentage of bars offer payouts for gamblers, in direct violation of Wisconsin state statutes.
Under a 1999 agreement that reduced penalties for operating illegal machines, enforcement is now handled solely by the state Department of Revenue, which makes sure bar, restaurant and hotel owners are paying appropriate taxes on revenue generated by machines.
Before then-Gov. Tommy Thompson revised the state law, violators faced felony charges, fines of up to $10,000, loss of liquor license and prison time. The current state law allows bars to have up to five video poker machines and paying out winnings is a civil offense, carrying a $500 fine and no loss of license.
Bars with more than five machines, however, could face criminal charges, according to Department of Revenue Communications Officer Jessica Iverson.
Regulating the machines is big business for the DOR, which has brought in nearly $23 million in taxes since the law went into effect in 2003. Proceeds generated through video gaming machines are taxable income, and the gross receipts are subject to the state's sales tax.
To keep things in check, the department relies heavily on tax audits and also enlists the help of Alcohol and Tobacco Enforcement agents.
Wisconsin Gambling Machines In Bars
'Our ATF agents come across the illegal machines through the course of normal inspection as well as in the course of investigating other tobacco or alcohol law violations,' Iverson says. 'We also, of course, conduct tax audits of businesses. If auditors identify gambling operations during the course of those audits, they will enlist the help of ATF agents to enforce that part of the statute, as well.'
In addition to the tax implications, the Wisconsin statute 945.01 (c) makes it illegal to operate any machine that affords a player to win something of value determined by a game of chance.
The threat of audits, fines and licensing issues aside, bar owners are willing to make the illegal payments because the machines bring in a big chunk of money.
'People sit down when they're bored,' said one bar owner who spoke with OnMilwaukee.com under the condition of anonymity. 'They're more inclined to spend more time and buy more drinks when they're at the machines and have a chance to win some money.
'A lot of people, if there's nobody at the bar, will sit at a machine and make a couple bucks to pass the time.'
At this particular establishment, players receive a ticket when done that they can redeem at the bar for their winnings. The bar owner knows he's taking a chance, but there's big money to be made, especially important in the current economy.
'It's a little bit scary, yeah,' he said. 'But it's a risk you take.'
Earlier in the decade, the Tavern League supported a measure introduced by Rep. Terry Musser (R-River Falls) that would have legalized the machines, generating as much as $380 million in revenue. Other supporters of the bill wanted to prevent Wisconsin Native American tribes, legally operating casinos under a compact with the state, from having a monopoly on gaming.
Some states are reconsidering their stances on video gambling in an effort to patch up growing budget deficits.
In Pennsylvania, Gov. Ed Rendell proposed legalizing some forms of video gambling as a means to fund free college tuitions at the 28 campuses in his state. Officials there estimate that roughly 17,000 video poker machines are operating illegally. Those machines, if legalized, could generate as much as $550 million, according to Gov. Rendell's plan.
Gambling Machines In Wisconsin Bars
'This is not an expansion of gaming,' Pennsylvania Revenue Secretary Stephen Stelter told The Philadelphia Inquirer earlier this month. 'It is the recognition that video poker is already a thriving industry.'
