Despite a deflating start in the Senate, there is still life for Minnesota sports betting legalization hopes in 2025.
A group of Democratic-Farmer-Labor lawmakers introduced House File 1842 in the Minnesota House last week. The bill is a companion to SF 757, which would legalize sports betting in Minnesota.
The Senate bill, however, fell short in a committee meeting last month. Despite seemingly aligned stakeholders, opposition forces have grown louder this year in the North Star State.
In previous sessions, the efforts largely started in the House, led by DFL Rep. Zack Stephenson, who is an author of the new bill.
Familiar Minnesota sports betting bill
Last year, a sports betting agreement was reportedly reached at the end of the session but ran out of time before a vote. That left strong hopes entering the 2025 session.
DFL Sen. Matt Klein came out of the gates running with stakeholders on board, but the bill stumbled in the State and Local Government Committee. Now, legislators will attempt to navigate the proposal through the House.
The proposal would give the state’s 11 tribes exclusivity on online sports betting and establish a relief fund for the state’s horse racing tracks and charitable gambling outlets. It would set the sports betting tax at 22%.
Bipartisan cooperation in Minnesota?
The relief fund could be key to passing the proposal. With a 67-67 tie for control in the House between the Republican and DFL parties, bipartisan support will be needed.
Klein made an amendment in committee that brought fellow sports betting proponent Republican Sen. Jeremy Miller on board.
In previous sessions, the party divide doomed sports betting legislation. The crux of the battle was whether the tribes would receive exclusivity and how the tracks and charitable gaming organizations would be affected.
Opposition grows louder
While the sports betting industry hoped the legislation could smoothly move forward with the parties aligned, the disagreements also gave the opposition time to solidify. In the fall, Sen. Erin Maye Quade told LSR that the opposition would not wane.
Maye Quade led the opposition in questioning during the Senate hearing last month.
An opponent of the issue, Sen. John Marty, authored a bill that would create massive guardrails on the industry. He tabled his bill after Klein’s stalled. Earlier this year, Marty held a hearing about the potential harms of legalizing sports betting.
