The Ho-Chunk Nation Opens Its $705 Million Beloit Casino After Years of Federal Approvals

The Ho-Chunk Nation opened Ho-Chunk Gaming Beloit to the public on Friday, October 23, cutting the ribbon on the first phase of a $705 million casino, hotel and convention center project in Beloit, Wisconsin.

Located at 777 Willowbrook Road in Beloit, Wisconsin, the facility represents one of the largest tribal gaming infrastructure deployments in the Upper Midwest, resolving a multi-decade land acquisition and regulatory process involving federal, state, and municipal authorities.

The day ran to a set program, according to the Beloit Daily News. There was a ribbon-cutting with local, county and state officials at 10 a.m., a mini pow wow with tribal songs and dance at noon, and the doors opened to the public at 2 p.m. Beloit residents and workers got a 10-hour preview the day before.

Federal Statutory Mechanics

Because the Beloit site sits outside the Ho-Chunk Nation’s historical reservation boundaries, the development required compliance with Section 20 of the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act (25 U.S.C. § 2719). Under 25 U.S.C. § 2719(b)(1)(A), off-reservation fee-to-trust acquisitions for gaming purposes require a formal “Two-Part Determination” by the Secretary of the Interior.

The statutory process requires the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) to establish that a proposed gaming establishment is in the best interest of the tribal nation and its members, while ensuring it is not detrimental to the surrounding local community. Following a favorable BIA finding issued on April 16, 2020, Wisconsin Governor Tony Evers issued formal gubernatorial concurrence on March 24, 2021, enabling the U.S. Department of the Interior to complete the final fee-to-trust land transfer under 25 C.F.R. Part 151 in May 2022.

Class III Compact Modifications, Remote Event Wagering, and Phase One Gaming Floor Architecture

To authorize gaming operations on the newly acquired trust land, the Ho-Chunk Nation and the State of Wisconsin executed formal amendments to their Class III Tribal-State Gaming Compact. The compact revision, published in the Federal Register after taking effect by operation of law under IGRA (25 U.S.C. § 2710(d)(8)(C)), expanded the Nation’s authorized Class III facility locations and added retail sports wagering and geofenced mobile event wagering on tribal lands.

The Phase One gaming floor features up to 1,500 electronic Slots and 44 Class III Table Games, including Double Zero Roulette, Craps, Mississippi Stud, Ultimate Texas Hold ‘Em, and Blackjack. Food and beverage amenities include Draft Picks Pub House, a multi-counter food hall, and planned upscale dining concepts.

Phase Two construction, scheduled for completion in late 2027, encompasses an 18-story, 312-room hotel tower and a 75,000-square-foot convention center. Total employment is projected to expand from 600 operational staff at launch to approximately 1,500 workers upon full resort completion.

Ten Years Through the Federal Process

The approvals took longer than the build. In 2012 the Nation asked the Bureau of Indian Affairs to take about 32 acres in Beloit into trust “for gaming and other purposes,” according to an Interior Department fact sheet.

On April 16, 2020, Interior issued a positive Two-Part Determination under the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act. It found that a casino on the site would be in the best interest of the Nation and its members and would not be detrimental to the surrounding community. Governor Tony Evers concurred on March 24, 2021, and on May 12, 2022 Interior’s Assistant Secretary for Indian Affairs made the final decision to take the land into trust.

The Compact Caught Up in 2026

The Nation still needed its gaming compact with Wisconsin to cover the new site. The 2024 amendments to the compact took effect by operation of law, because the Interior Secretary took no action within the 45-day review period. The Federal Register notice, published January 8, 2025, says the amendment “adds additional class III facility locations” and also adds event wagering and geofenced remote wagering.

Three Decades of Waiting

The project is older than the paperwork shows. Ho-Chunk Nation President Jon Greendeer told the Rockford Register Star that the effort to buy back the land began in 1992, when Beloit was meant to be the tribe’s fourth casino. “Countless obstacles were a constant theme working with the federal agencies, local agencies, opposition from naysayers in the area, other tribal nations who were seeking off-reservation gaming there and naysayers even within our own tribe,” he said.

The price rose along the way. For about a decade the Nation marketed the whole project as a $405 million development, the Beloit Daily News reported, and by the October 2024 groundbreaking it had grown to $705 million.

Seventh Casino in a Compact State

Wisconsin has signed gaming compacts with all 11 federally recognized tribes in the state, and each one sets the rules under which that tribe may offer Class III gaming. Beloit is the seventh Ho-Chunk Gaming location, joining Black River Falls, Nekoosa, Wittenberg, Tomah, Wisconsin Dells and Madison.

Who Gets a Share of the Money

The local money is written down. According to the Beloit Daily News, as cited by the Rockford Register Star, the casino is expected to produce $150 million to $250 million a year in net winnings, with 1.4% of its gaming revenue going to the city, 0.6% to Rock County and 5% to the state.

The nearest rival is across the border. Hard Rock Casino Rockford, owned by the Seminole Tribe of Florida, is about 17 miles south in Illinois.

The city of Beloit is budgeting about $1.5 million from the casino in 2027 and plans to spend it on studying and designing a new police station, a project that has been on its wish list for at least 10 years.