In Minnesota, state Senator Karla Bigham and state Rep. Pat Garofalo are co-sponsoring a bill allowing tribal casinos to offer on-site sports wagering for the first year, then mobile betting for participants who sign up for an account at a casino. Bigham said, “Sports betting is already done flagrantly and it’s time to shine some light on it, put some guardrails around it, protections around it and quite honestly we need to legalize it. If that state makes a few bucks while we’re at it, good for us.”
Revenue would be taxed at 6 percent for on-site betting and 8 percent for online wagering. The funds would be directed to the state’s general fund, with 0.5 percent going to problem gambling services. Bigham and Garofalo said the new tax revenue would benefit the state, but “the big win” would be to provide consumer protections to individuals who already are gambling through offshore websites or illegal underground operations.
Minnesota’s tribal nations oppose the legislation. So do some top legislators even though Bigham and Garofalo pointed out the revenue from sports betting could help close the $1.3 billion budget gap. Democratic Governor Tim Walz said he’d be open to sports betting legislation but Republican Senate Majority Leader Paul Gazelka stated passage is unlikely. He noted, “Any major policy item that has a lot of disagreement I don’t foresee happening this year. But in addition, many of us just don’t think it’s the right thing to do for Minnesota.”
