Minnesota Sports Betting Drive for 2025 Falters
Minnesota's attempt to legalize online sporting wagering has stalled again, despite high hopes entering 2025 and a legislative framework garnering extensive support. The state legislature adjourned without signing off on any bill addressing sports betting.
Several legislative efforts were made this session to make a legal Minnesota sports betting market a reality, including Senate Bill 757, sponsored by Sen. Matt Klein; Senate Bill 3414, sponsored by Sen. Nick Frentz; and the third iteration of the Minnesota Sports Betting Act, sponsored by Sen. Jeremy Miller.
Yet, none of those pieces of legislation made it out of their initial committee assignments, ultimately mirroring lawmakers' attempts to legalize sports betting in the previous year.
The collapse comes after a legislative session that most believed was poised to finally introduce a sports betting structure, which will surely be disappointing news to our best sports betting sites. Sen. Klein's central plan, SF 757, was presented as a balanced bill that pushed back against earlier resistance by adding provisions like authorizing all 11 Minnesota tribes to run sportsbooks in cooperation with licensed operators, including fantasy sports companies.
Klein drew attention to the bill's broad support base, which is said to include all tribal nations in the state, Minnesota's two racetracks, all state professional sports teams, charitable gaming associations, bipartisan political backing, and popular support, as demonstrated in recent polls.
The legislation also prioritized provisions for responsible gambling. Klein described SF 757 as the safest of its kind in the country, incorporating player protection measures and provisions to guarantee compliant, lawfully operating operators satisfy stringent compliance and consumer protection standards.
Down to the wire
Despite proposed safeguards, the bill was strongly resisted at committee hearings. The fight went down to the final hours at a Senate Committee on Taxes hearing on a comprehensive omnibus tax bill.
However, that provision was eliminated from the bill following the A20 amendment, a measure carried out by Committee Chair Sen. Ann Rest. She indicated that the state wasn't yet prepared to even discuss the issue at the policy level, reflecting broader concerns around the perils of expanding gambling access.
“The sports betting one continues to draw the most controversy,” Rest noted. “That controversy continues and has led to conversations here among our committee members, and that’s the reason why we have the A20 amendment.”
Sen. Klein, a committee vice-chair, disagreed vehemently with that step. He warned that by resisting the study, the legislature was effectively closing its eyes to a growing segment of the population already making unregulated sports bets at foreign and illicit websites.
He also pointed out the missed opportunity to support tribal communities, whose leaders have put legalization of sports betting right at the head of their wish lists as a means of bolstering essential services and economic sustainability. To Sen. Klein, inaction on the issue was a broader abandonment of the tribes and the public.
