The Minnesota legislature will again consider whether to legalize retail and online sports betting sites in the Land of 10,000 Lakes this year, as several lawmakers have said the issue remains on their radar.
An effort to implement legal sports betting in Minnesota fell apart in 2022 after a bill passed by the state’s House of Representatives — which would have given Native American tribes control over event wagering — was amended by the Senate to include racetracks.
But the political situation has changed in Minnesota. Both chambers of the legislature (and the governor’s office) are controlled by Democrats, which could provide an easier path to passing a bill. Gov. Tim Walz even said during an October debate that he would support a sports-betting bill from the legislature, although he would not necessarily push for legislation himself.
"We came so close last year and I do think we have a great chance to get it across the finish line this year," said Rep. Zack Stephenson, the Democratic-Farmer-Labor lawmaker who led the sports-betting drive last year, in a recent interview with FOX 9.
Bipartisan interest
The pressure to get something passed in the state comes from a few sources, including peer pressure. Minnesota is now surrounded by states and Canadian provinces with legal sports betting, although not all have mobile wagering options.
There is support from voters as well, as polling done last year showed. Republican Sen. Karin Housley told Covers in December that she hoped the Democrats would prioritize sports betting during the legislative session.
“We've got millions going down to Iowa,” Housley said in an interview on the sidelines of the National Council of Legislators from Gaming States (NCLGS) conference. “People are still gambling and they're doing it legally, in one of the surrounding states, or they're doing it illegally, so let's put an umbrella over it and regulate it.”
Who does what?
No legislation has been filed yet in the Minnesota House or Senate, but it could come soon. The bigger question will be who can offer it in the state, as the debate over tribes, tracks, and teams is unsettled.
Republicans may be more inclined to support legislation that includes the tracks, but the bill driven by Stephenson would have made sports betting the exclusive jurisdiction of the tribes.
"I think that our best bet for such a big expansion of gaming in Minnesota is to stick with our trusted partners," Stephenson told FOX 9. "The tribes have been operating gaming in Minnesota for longer, more successfully, and at a more sophisticated level that any other entity. They’re the most regulated gaming operator in the state of Minnesota."
Yet the state’s two racetracks make similar arguments about their previous experience with offering wagering in Minnesota.
"The types of people that would wager on sports are very similar to those who wager on horses," Randy Sampson, CEO of Canterbury Park in Shakopee, recently told the Star Tribune.
