Minnesota state Senator Karla Bigham—the only state senator who supported sports wagering legislation last session—recently announced she will sponsor a bill that would allow tribal casinos and the state’s two racetracks to offer sports betting. At first, bets only could be placed in person; after one year, bettors could place bets online or on smartphones through tribal casino apps anywhere in the state. Bigham’s bill also would create a new Sports Wagering Commission.
She said sports betting could help the casinos and racetracks financially after Covid-19 setbacks. “Sports wagering is flagrantly done publicly by myself and others, but it is not legal. So why criminalize it? Let’s shine some light on it, let’s put some parameters around it and if the state makes a buck or two along the way, good for us,” Bigham said.
She added tax revenue is not a motivation. “You don’t do legislation like legalizing sports wagering, legalizing marijuana, legalizing fireworks—and I’m supportive of all those—to balance a budget,” she said.
Besides Bigham, state Rep. Pat Garofalo also will sponsor a sports betting bill, as he has for the past several sessions. He said, “I love Minnesota. I’ve lived here my whole life. I just don’t know why we have to be the 45th or 46th state to do everything. Our government can’t do anything quickly. We couldn’t get rid of regulation for 3.2 beer. We just recently allowed Sunday liquor sales. It’s a perpetual unwillingness to let adults act like adults.”
Garofalo’s bill, the same as the one he sponsored last year, would allow sports betting only at tribal casinos. Online and mobile wagering would not be allowed, at least initially. Like Bigham, Garofalo said revenue is not the key issue in the push to legalize sports betting. Instead, it’s a matter of consumer protection, restricting black-market gambling. “States around us are legalizing it and the vast majority of Minnesotans want to see it happen. It would provide consumer protections and allow law enforcement to focus on more important issues,” Garofalo stated.
Minnesota’s tribal nations, however, are not in a hurry to invest in sports betting which they don’t see as especially profitable although it could generate an estimated $30 million to $40 million in annual revenue. Also, it would allow non-tribal operators to participate in gambling in the state. Minnesota Indian Gaming Association Executive Director John McCarthy said his group’s membership “remain opposed to any and all expansion of off-reservation gambling.”
State Rep. Zack Stephenson, the new chair of the House Commerce Committee, said he has no firm position on sports wagering. However, he said the issue is unlikely to have the same urgency as the state budget and response to Covid-19. “We obviously have a really packed agenda, between the pandemic and the budget. I think that makes it pretty challenging to take on a host of other issues. My take would be that I think it’s probably not likely that we’ll do a lot on gaming unless there’s broad consensus among the stakeholders,” Stephenson said.
Governor Tim Walz hasn’t expressed much interest sports betting, although he said he’s open to it if the legislature is.
