While lawmakers have seemingly come close to passing Minnesota sports betting over the past few years, opposition voices might be getting louder.
Sen. John Marty held a hearing Wednesday in the Senate Finance Committee on the harms of the sports betting industry. The legislative session starts next week, where multiple Minnesota sports betting bills will likely be considered.
Marty introduced one of those bills, one that primarily focused on responsible gambling aspects. While there were plenty of testimonies about the negatives of the industry at Wednesday’s hearing, there was little by proponents.
Minnesota sports betting opposition
The committee heard from nearly a dozen witnesses talking about the harms of sports betting:
- Several professors who study sports betting’s impact on society
- Les Bernal, national director of Stop Predatory Gambling
- Matt Litt, a litigator for sports betting victims
- Susan Sheridan Tucker, executive director of Minnesota Alliance on Problem Gambling
- Claudette McDowall, Minnesota Coalition for the Homeless
Harms of sports betting
Bernal said the gambling industry has created a strong “phony narrative” to expand the legal market. He cited a New York Times article series from 2022 and a Massachusetts Gaming Commission study to highlight his points.
Bernal said the MGC study found that 4% of Massachusetts residents were using illegal gambling sites in 2022 before legalization. After the market launched, the study found that the number spiked to 18% of residents using illegal gambling sites.
Litt discussed the sports betting industry’s predatory efforts, including free bets offered to VIP bettors. One of his clients, Amit Patel, allegedly received more than $1 million in free bets from FanDuel. Patel is suing FanDuel for allegedly exploiting his addiction issues after admitting to embezzling money from the Jacksonville Jaguars to fund his lifestyle.
Litt argued that sports betting companies “take an active role in addiction through VIP hosts.”
Proponent speaks up
Sen. Nick Frentz co-authored a bill for this session with Sen. Matt Klein to legalize sports betting. During the hearing, which lacked sportsbook representation, he spoke to support the industry.
“Simple fact is we’ve had testimony ignoring the fact many Minnesotans want this,” he said.
He said he hopes a bill will be passed that responsibly addresses the concerns brought up Wednesday. He also said there should be a focus that between 92% and 99% of Minnesotans will not fall into the problem gambling category.
Industry absence
According to multiple industry sources, sportsbook representatives were denied the ability to partake in the hearing.
One source believed Marty wanted to “bash” online sports betting without a thoughtful discussion of the pros and cons. Another agreed that it was a media stunt that did not engage in a good-faith debate.
“I was disappointed to see what happened in Minnesota today,” said Brandt Iden, VP of government affairs at Fanatics. “Setting aside the arguments either for or against the testimony presented, my larger concern was the lack of complete policy discourse and debate on the issue. As a former lawmaker and [Committee] Chairman, I know full well that the chair retains the ability to limit testimony in any fashion they wish.
“However, frankly, I think a media stunt like this does a disservice to the institution and is disrespectful to your colleagues who were duly elected to represent their communities, engage in thoughtful political debate on both sides of an issue, and ultimately make their own decisions as to what’s best for their constituencies.”
