With Minnesota headed toward a potentially split legislature, sports betting will remain a political tug-of-war.
The past few years have seen Minnesota sports betting legislation hit dead ends as a bipartisan agreement could not be reached with opposition on both sides of the aisle. Now, the Democrat-Farmer-Labor party, which controlled all three facets of the Minnesota government the past two years, will likely cede control or share the chamber of the House following Tuesday, according to Axios Twin Cities.
With Gov. Tim Walz returning to Minneapolis, the DFL retains the governor’s mansion and Senate. Following Election Day, Stifel analyst Steve Wieczynski said that “bipartisan opposition and a potential Senate/House split creates challenges” to future efforts.
House switch in Minnesota?
Minnesotans provided the DFL with the governmental “trifecta” in 2022. The party then enacted a wide array of progressive policies, a platform that left sports betting behind. It still entered 2024 as an industry favorite to legalize, before ending without passage.
Heading into Tuesday, Republicans ran on a platform that positioned the DFL control as too progressive and that more balance was needed. With every House seat up for election the 70-64 DFL advantage is at risk, as at least a 67-67 tie looks likely as of Wednesday morning.
Sports betting remained a bipartisan issue, but the DFL desired tribal exclusivity, while the Republicans hoped to find a way to include horse racing tracks in the state, whether it be licenses or a share of sports betting revenue.
Hope for Minnesota sports betting?
The tribal-racetrack dynamic has doomed sports betting in previous sessions. This year, Running Aces Casino, Hotel & Racetrack filed a lawsuit against three Minnesota tribal casinos.
That came after DFL sports betting sponsor Rep. Zack Stephenson filed a bill to ban historical horse racing, which the Minnesota Gaming Commission had ruled to allow earlier in the year.
While the tension was palpable, an agreement was reportedly in place in the final hours of the legislative session but did not pass. A DFL senator told LSR this fall that the opposition will remain strong on both sides of the aisle.
Freeze thawing?
However, there might be hope that the freeze between Running Aces and the Minnesota Indian Gaming Association could be coming to an end.
Running Aces President and CEO Taro Ito sent a letter to MIGA Chairman Cole Miller this week hoping for a compromise.
“We believe it is possible to work through any disagreements and arrive at successful compromises,” Ito wrote. “We are hopeful that legislators and the gaming industry can all work together to ensure passage of a bill that benefits all three of these entities and the communities they serve.
“Based on numerous public polls, 90% or more Minnesotans support a sports betting bill that is beneficial for the horse industry, tribal communities and local charities, and we are hopeful that the gaming industry can come together, at the Capitol, to pass sports betting legislation that reflects an appropriate compromise.”
