Minnesota legislative session ends without sports betting

Monday, May 20, 2024 2:42 PM
Photo:  By Lorie Shaull - Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=80427414
  • Mia Doyle, Special to CDC Gaming

The legislative session in Minnesota ended Sunday without consideration of legal sports betting.

“We’re going to come up just short on the sports betting bill this year. But in the last few days we proved that we could find a deal that all the major stakeholders could live with. Tribes, tracks, charities … That’s meaningful progress that can be a foundation for the future,” Minnesota Rep. Zack Stephenson said on social media platform X.

Stephenson introduced a bill that would have granted the state’s 11 tribes exclusive access to online sports betting licenses.

Before the start of the year, stakeholders believed that Minnesota had a good chance at legalizing sports betting. However, the latest legislative session saw representatives arguing and sessions running as late as 5 a.m. Also, last month, Sen. Nicole Mitchell was arrested for breaking into her estranged stepmother’s home. This incident jeopardized legalizing sports betting, as Democrats needed Republican votes to pass legislation.

All of the states that were expected to approve sports betting this year have yet to do so, including Alabama, Georgia and Missouri. If this doesn’t change by the end of the year, 2024 will be the first year since the repeal of PASPA that no state has legalized sports betting.

Mia Doyle is a news writer for Major League Content, covering the latest stories across the casino and sports betting industry. Mia’s specialties include US gambling business, casino technology, and legislation news. Mia also likes to write about responsible gambling and social responsibility.