There will be no legal Minnesota sports betting until 2024 at the earliest. The 2023 legislative session ended without action being taken on a proposed bill that would have legalized sports betting in the state. 

Multiple issues arose at the end of the legislative session that sidelined talks for a compromise. Sports betting legislation bumped into opposition from the state’s horse racing tracks. They want to be included in any sports betting ecosystem. 

A bill in the state Senate failed to make it to the full floor. It would have granted sports betting licenses to 11 Native American tribes to operate retail and mobile betting on professional and collegiate “athletic events.” Each tribe would receive one mobile skin. And outsider operators would only be allowed once such partnership in the state. 

The proposed legislation included multiple regulations that would govern all the substantive issues concerning sports betting as seen elsewhere, including advertising and marketing restrictions, payment methods, types of wagering allowed, self-exclusion, and integrity monitoring. Those would not be left to gaming regulators. 

The state would have collected 10% on net gaming receipts from mobile wagering. No taxes would be collected on retail wagering conducted on native lands. 

The bill would have established criminal and civil penalties for any violations of the law concerning betting. 

RELATED: Which States Will Launch Sports Betting By Next Year?

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Minnesota Sports Betting On Hold Until 2024

Sports betting is currently legal in 33 states and Washington DC. The average time from the passage of legislation to the first bets being in place has run an average of about 8 months. If a bill were to get through the legislature next year, it would still be a stretch to get it up and running before 2025.

As far as which Minnesota betting apps would launch, DraftKings and FanDuel already have made inroads in the state due to their fantasy presence. All four states that surround Minnesota have live and legal sports betting. North Dakota, South Dakota, and Wisconsin have retail betting at tribal casinos. Minnesota is bordered to the south by Iowa, which has had retail and mobile betting since 2019. 

In Kentucky, sports betting was legalized in May with the provision that the state’s horse racing tracks and one major motor speedway would hold the licenses. Two tracks reached a deal with Caesars to operate their retail and mobile books. 

Pro teams, as well, may want to be considered as potential license holders. In Ohio, pro sports teams, racetracks, pro-level golf courses, and casinos, make up the 17 license holders. Each operates in partnership with a separate sportsbook.  

Minnesota Sports Betting Bill Details

Any future proposed legislation in Minnesota would likely grant exclusive access for sports betting licenses to the state’s 11 recognized Native American tribes. Minnesota has both a thoroughbred track (Canterbury Park) and a harness track (Running Aces). Neither one has yet to be included in any proposed legislation.

That has given an opening to state Republicans, who said they will not support any sports betting bill that excludes the parimutuel sites. Since the DFL party lacks the votes on its own, a bill would have to be bipartisan. 

The tribes have said they are willing to give up some revenues to the horse tracks to offset projected losses. One amendment proposal this year had the tracks receive 3% of the tax revenue collected by the state up to $20 million. The Minnesota Department of Revenue has projected that sports betting could bring $400 million in tax revenue in 3 to 4 years. 

A bill from 2022 that failed to pass that would have licensed sports betting exclusivity to the Native American tribes. A gaming compact that did the same in Florida was nullified in a federal court and remains on appeal. 

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