Two sports betting bills are back in circulation this session and HF 2000 is getting the most attention after the Human Services Finance Committee appropriated money from the legislation via an amendment. The bill has now wound its way to the State and Local Government Committee.
Legislative Redux
Representative Zack Stephenson of the Democrat Labor Party has returned with his sports betting legislation from last year to take another bite at the legislative apple. Although his party controls both chambers of the Minnesota state legislature, he will need the support of Republicans if his bill is to pass.
Nevertheless, that is only the first hurdle this bill faces, as cooperation between Minnesota’s horse tracks and Native American tribes will have to be forged for this bill to reach the governor’s desk. However, a letter from the Minnesota Indian Gaming Association (MIGA) made it clear that Representative Stephenson’s version has its full support.
“Were HF2000, as currently drafted, to become law, MIGA tribes believe the resulting mobile and retail markets operated by Minnesota’s Tribal Nations would not only support tribes but would also provide a well-regulated and accessible market for the state’s sports bettors and a competitive market that is important to our states professional sports teams and market partners,” stated a letter signed by Andy Platto, Executive Director of MIGA.
In addition to Stephenson’s bill, Senator Jeremy Miller’s “Minnesota Sports Betting Act 2.0” allowing for in-person betting at horse tracks and professional sports venues has also been resurrected and would also allow up to 11 operator licenses for online sports betting while granting each tribe one skin, or digital operator, to partner with in the mobile sports betting arena.
Not So Fast
There is still trepidation out there concerning bringing sports betting to the masses and it was never more evident than when Susan Sheridan Tucker, Executive Director of the Minnesota Alliance on Problem Gambling, addressed the House panel convened on the deleterious effects of expanded gambling in the North Star State and how to mitigate them.
Sheridan Tucker stressed the need for expanded resources to combat the consequences of mobile sports betting and the plethora of advertisements that would flood the Minnesota market. “It is a real addiction. It’s a gambling disorder,” she said. “Additional funding is absolutely necessary. We have a lot of work to do.”
Approximately $4 billion per annum is already being spent on legal gambling by Minnesotans to which Sheridan Tucker retorted, “That’s a lot of discretionary money.”
Stephenson’s Argument
But Representative Stephenson defended his bill by saying, “What this bill is about is taking an illicit activity and trying to make it regulated, controlled and consumer-protected,” alluding to the fact that Minnesotans are already wagering with unregulated sports betting sites, some of which can be predatory, and that tax money is not being recognized by the state.
Representative Dave Baker countered by saying, “We’re creating more addictive behaviors. We need to be talking about this the same way we talk to students about drug addiction, smoking, vaping, all of that.”
The road to legal and regulated sports betting in Minnesota still has a long way to go but there appears to be more daylight than ever before in gaining passage.
