Minnesota lawmakers failed to pass its most recent proposal to legalize sports betting. Its legislative session ended Sunday without a bill being signed into law.
Although the Minnesota House of Representatives was able to recently move a bill forward that would legalize sports betting statewide, an agreement could not be reached in the Senate regarding the state’s tribal casinos and their involvement in the market once regulated.
Proposals in both the house and senate had gained bipartisan support and would have given the state’s tribes control of running both in-person and mobile sports betting. The crux of the debate centered around whether two horseracing tracks near the Twin Cities would be permitted to host betting.
The Minnesota Indian Gaming Association opposed the bill in the senate that would have granted Canterbury Park in Shakopee and Running Aces in Columbus access to sports betting.
Minnesota Governor Tim Walz said he would not sign any sports betting legislation that did not have the tribal nations’ support.
Legislators were not able to reach an agreement, which led to a failed push for legalization.
Representative Pat Garofalo said voiced how frustrating the outcome was despite the proposal’s bipartisan support. He commented: “[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.”
Several of Minnesota’s neighbors have already legalized sports betting. Since the Supreme Court repealed PASPA in 2018, online gambling is currently available in 32 states, with 18 of those allowing for legal online sports wagering.
According to the US Census Bureau, those jurisdictions represent more than 166.9 million people.
