In Minnesota, sports betting legislation fell short of the finish line just before the session ended May 22. The addition of licenses for two horse racetracks doomed the bill sponsored by state Rep. Zack Stephenson.
The legislation started out with bipartisan support and advanced through five House committees before it passed the full House, 70-57. Unlike previous years, the Minnesota Indian Gaming Association supported Stephenson’s bill, which would have given the state’s 11 gaming tribes exclusive rights to on-site and online sports wagering. Mobile sports betting would have been taxed at 10 percent.
But when the bill reached the Senate, a committee added an amendment to allow sports betting at the two horse racetracks, following Majority Leader Jeremy Miller’s insistence that commercial venues, as well as tribes, be allowed to offer sports wagering. MIGA sent an opposition letter to the committee withdrawing its support for the bill. The full Senate did not take up the legislation.
State Rep. Pat Garofalo, a co-sponsor of the measure, said, “There are too many legislators focused on short-term political considerations instead of thinking about what is best for the whole state. The sports gambling issue is symbolic of how screwed up the lawmaking process is in Minnesota.”
According to a KTSP/SurveyUSA poll., more than 60 percent of Minnesotans support legalized sports betting.
