The latest bill to bring legal sports betting to Minnesota continued to inch its way through the Gopher State’s House of Representatives on Thursday.
The legislature’s Judiciary Finance and Civil Law Committee voted to advance House Bill 2000 — which was raised by Rep. Zach Stephenson (D-Coon Rapids) earlier this month — to the Public Safety and Finance Committee.
HB 200 calls for legal retail sports betting in Minnesota at tribal nation casinos and the licensing of online sports betting sites.
Rep. Stephenson argued Thursday before the committee that sports betting is already a big business within the Gopher State and needs to be legalized so it can be controlled.
“We should be clear from the outset that sports betting is already happening in Minnesota,” Stephenson said.
“We have a robust black market here. People just use shady websites, digital workarounds, and other means to place bets. What this bill is about is creating a legal marketplace that will displace that illicit market, and in doing so, will provide consumer protection, insure the integrity of the game and limit money laundering and other illegal activity.”
Committee members heard testimonies from pro- and anti-gambling advocates Thursday and also questioned if there could be more safety measures to guard against gambling issues added to the bill.
Rep. Stephenson agreed to look into providing those and having further discussions on those matters.
How Minnesota got here
This is the second consecutive year that Rep. Stephenson has raised a legal sports betting bill. It made it through the Democratic-led House before dying in the Republican-led Senate.
Rep. Stephenson reintroduced a similar bill this year that has already made it past the Commerce Finance and Policy Committee on Monday.
He said Thursday that he's studied other U.S. states that have legalized sports betting and has worked with pro teams and the Minnesota Indian Gaming Association to create the bill. MIGA and its 11 tribes would be in charge of approving and regulating 11 operating licenses within Minnesota.
Minnesota’s marketplace value
One committee member asked about the evaluation of the Minnesota sports betting market and what the figures entail.
Rep. Stephenson said the "conservative estimate" numbers that he came up with last year see the Gopher State bringing in wagers upwards of $2.8 billion. That would create an estimated $1.2 billion in revenue.
The state would receive around $12 million per year in tax revenue. That money would fund regulating sports bettors, protecting consumers, problem gambling programs, and youth sports.
Like last year’s bill, this one calls for a 10% tax rate on sports betting revenue.
“This is a 10% tax on the margin which is designed to be relatively low because we’re trying to get rid of the illicit marketplace,” Stephenson said. “We don't want people to be driven out of it because of higher costs.”
