A sports betting bill that was once seen as dead is scheduled to be debated in the Minnesota House of Representatives on Wednesday. A bipartisan group of lawmakers has been working for months to find a compromise between various interests, particularly racetracks and tribal nations.
The bill's Senate sponsor, Republican Rep. Pat Garofalo of Farmington, has been trying for years to legalize sports betting in Minnesota.
“We're going to make a Hail Mary play in the end zone. A bipartisan group of lawmakers who oppose us are trying to knock that down, and that's exactly where we are,” Garofalo said.
Ultimately, he says, it's a fight over who makes money from sports betting in the state. Lawmakers are gearing up for the 2024 legislative session, which must adjourn by Monday.
The sports betting industry hit a record high of $11 billion in revenue in 2023. Minnesota is in the minority of 38 states that have legalized some form of sports betting since the U.S. Supreme Court ruled to overturn the federal ban on state licensing of sports betting. All of our neighbors in Minnesota have it in some form.
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