Facing a session end date of May 23, the Minnesota House and Senate still are debating the sports betting bills. The House bill, HF 778, would limit sports wagering to tribal casinos, but a competing Senate measure also wants to allow it at horse racetracks to avoid granting tribes a monopoly.
The bill has passed in eight committees in the past few months and most recently passed the House Ways and Means Committee. Now it will go to the House floor although no date has been set.
The legislation, sponsored by state Rep. Zack Stephenson, would allow online and retail sports betting to be offered by the state’s 11 tribes at their casinos and through apps. Sports betting revenue would be taxed at 10 percent, with half going to responsible gambling initiatives. Stephenson said, “I take it really seriously, and the advocates who work in problem gaming can tell you that we’ve incorporated every suggestion that they’ve ever made into the bill,” Stephenson said. The rest of tax revenue would fund youth sports programs in communities with high levels of juvenile crime.
The bill would create two “master mobile sports betting licenses.” Each would be valid for 20 years and would be granted to organizations consisting of two or more tribes. One license would be given to an organization of northern tribes and another to southern tribes. Each tribe in a licensed organization could partner with an online sportsbook operator to run their app.
The tribes would have to negotiate new compacts with Governor Tim Walz, who has said he’s open to a bill that includes tribal interests.
Stephenson said, “The path has gotten a little murkier and harder to see how we can get it done, but I think there’s still an opportunity.”
