In Minnesota, the House Committee on Government Finance & Elections voted 7-5 to move the sports betting bill HF 778 to the Senate Judiciary Committee. The bill is sponsored by Democratic state Rep. Zack Stephenson and Republican state Rep. Pat Garofalo.
Stephenson said, “This legislation will bring about the most significant change to Minnesota’s gaming laws in many years. State lawmakers in the Minnesota House have crafted a thoughtful bill based on respectful consultation with sovereign tribal nations, professional sports teams, experts in problem gaming and many other stakeholders. This is the year we get sports betting done in Minnesota.”
Garofalo added, “The current sports gambling black market is indefensible. A majority of states have abandoned the underground market and instead chosen a legalized sports gambling marketplace. It is time for Minnesota to do the same.”
The proposed legislation would allow Minnesotans aged 21 and older to place bets on-site or online. Revenue would be used to fund a regulated market, provide grants to address problem gaming and sports integrity and provide grants to youth sports teams in areas with high juvenile crime.
Earlier attempts to legalize sports betting have faced opposition from the state’s 11 tribal casinos. However, this bill would create two master mobile sports betting licenses with 20-year terms, which would go to the state’s Native American tribes. The tribes could then receive up to 11 operator permits for online sportsbooks and could partner with third-party platform providers to conduct mobile wagering.
Stephenson explained, “This bill includes both brick-and-mortar sports betting at tribal casinos, as well as statewide mobile sports betting operated by the tribes in partnership with commercial operators. To put that in plain terms, if this bill passes, Minnesotans will be able to visit sports betting lounges at casinos all across Minnesota and they’ll also be able to wager on sports on their smartphones anywhere in the state.”
Minnesota Indian Gaming Association Executive Director Andy Platto said, “Tribal leaders hope to soon be as comfortable with the details as they currently are with the general framework. HF 778 in its current form recognizes that tribes as the states gaming experts are in best position to operate Minnesota’s sports wagering market.”
A similar bill pending in the Senate would allow racetracks to apply for sports betting licenses, but tribes are not likely to give up control of the lucrative market. Sam Krueger, executive director of the Electronic Gaming Group, said the Senate bill “picks winners and losers in this industry. We are not against sports betting. We are against bills that allow our chief competitors, the tribes, to vastly expand outside of their existing jurisdictions without allowing the charities a reasonable path to compete and grow going forward.”
Opponents of HF 778 include the group Citizens Against Gambling Expansion. Spokesman Jake Grassel said the bill could lead to increased addiction which would impact state finances. He said, “By creating a marketplace for this next generation to gamble from their couch, coffee shop or dorm room, we are creating a generation that will lose their hard-earned monies and likely their future to betting on entertainment.”
Stephenson told the committee illegal sports betting already is happening in Minnesota and that 40 percent of sports betting tax revenue would go to treating problem gambling. He said, “We need to be honest here. Most people can gamble without issue, but for a small subset it is a real problem. We would devote more resources than ever before to confronting this problem.”
