Minnesota has again failed in efforts to legalize sports betting. The legislative session ended Monday with no progress on a proposal by lawmakers.
At the end of the 2024 legislative session, it appeared as if lawmakers were ready to agree on a proposal, but opposition grew stronger during this year’s session.
Sen. Matt Klein introduced a bill to legalize Minnesota sports betting through the state’s 11 tribes, but the proposal failed to gain support. Klein commented, “Once again, this year we are going to abandon Minnesotans who feel they have a legitimate right to sports wager on their mobile devices and are doing so already in abundant numbers on platforms that are unregulated, unsafe and predatory.”
A subsequent effort proposed to “study, evaluate, provide recommendations, and issue a report on the legalization of sports betting.” However, this was also rejected by the Senate Taxes Committee. Committee Chair Sen. Ann Rest said sports gambling legislation was “too preliminary” to require a study.
Klein, vice chair of the committee, refused to accept defeat, however. There will be a special session to finish the budget and he remains hopeful that the plan to legalize sports betting is not necessarily dead.
Unregulated sports betting set to continue
The lack of progress for regulated sports betting means the state’s residents will continue to use alternative means to gamble. Minnesotans wagered an estimated $2.44 billion through unregulated, offshore betting sites in 2023, resulting in zero tax revenue for the state.
Klein believes legalization could generate approximately $80 million in annual tax revenue. It also seemed he had ironed out differences between the state’s tribes and horse racing tracks in his proposed bill, which had been a barrier to progress in the past.
The state’s 11 tribes favor any legislation that grants exclusive access to both retain and online betting. The state’s racing tracks had opposed this, but Klein included funding for tracks in the spending of tax revenue in a bid to appease racetrack owners.
Lawmakers rally against sports betting
Lawmakers rallied against the proposal, however. Sen. John Marty organized a hearing on the harms of the sports betting industry before the legislative session started. Marty criticized the bill for favoring sportsbook profits over consumer protections, advocating for stricter regulations, including bans on college sports betting and public advertising.
Sen. Erin Maye Quade also expressed concerns about the addictive nature of mobile betting apps, stating, “I do not trust a predatory industry, especially the tech industry.”
Despite the setback, there remains bipartisan support. In addition to Democrat Klein, Republican Sen. Jeremy Miller has shown support for legalization, and Democrat Rep. Zack Stephenson has led the charge in the House.
The issue will no doubt be put forward again in the next legislative session. For now, Minnesota remains one of only 11 states yet to legalize sports betting in some form.
Adam is an experienced writer with years of experience in the gambling industry. He has worked as a content writer and editor for five years on sites such as Oddschecker, CoinTelegraph and Gambling Industry News, bringing excellent knowledge of the world of sports betting and online gambling. Adam focuses on emerging stories in the ever changing landscape of betting in the US. Read the latest on prediction markets, changing legislation, and sweepstakes.
