Legalized sports betting may be coming to Minnesota. Just not anytime soon.

Posted July 23, 2019

A brief letter from a major player in the sphere of legal gambling has altered the politics around the issue of sports gambling in Minnesota. At least for now.
Last week, Charles Vig, the seat of the Minnesota Indian Gaming Association, composed Gov. Tim Walz and the four legislative leaders to state the nation’s gambling tribes were not interested in adding sports betting to their offerings.
But he didn’t stop there. From the letter, Vig said the tribes will oppose passage of legislation to add Minnesota to the growing list of states with legalized sports gambling. “The Minnesota Indian Gaming Association continues to oppose the expansion of off-reservation gambling, including the legalization of sports gambling,” he wrote.
The seven casino-owning tribes at Minnesota combine a group of unusual allies in opposing sports betting statements this season, including groups like Citizens Against Gambling Expansion, which concerns about the ill effects of gambling, including dependency.
The tribes don’t possess a veto over non-tribal gaming, but their voices are influential, particularly among DFLers such as Gov. Tim Walz and the new House majority. Under federal law, states must bargain in good faith to allow tribes to offer the same kinds of gambling that’s legal off-reservation.
Until a U.S. Supreme Court decision last spring cleared the way for countries to offer sports betting like what is legal in Nevada casino gambling books, that legislation wasn’t a problem in Minnesota. Now it is. By a 6-3 majority, the court ruled in Murphy v. NCAA that Congress exceeded its power by preventing states from legalizing and regulating sports gambling. The case had been brought by New Jersey, which wanted to provide a boost to its struggling Atlantic City casinos, and had tried a set of legal moves to end the federal ban against sports gambling in all states except Nevada.
In the majority opinion, Justice Samuel Alito, Jr. wrote that Congress has the ability to pass laws to regulate sports betting itself. However, if it decides not to, each state is free to do so, and many have already done exactly that.
A draft bill circulated at the Minnesota capitol in the conclusion of the 2018 session however no formal bill was filed and no hearings were held. Supporters of the law, led by Sen. Roger Chamberlain, R-Blaine, have been coordinating a bill for this session,.
Chamberlain, who is chair of the Senate Taxes Committee, was amazed and a bit disappointed at the tribes’ place, which he found out about via Twitter. “We met with them and while they are not always in alignment they are clearly concerned about losing their economic foundation, the economic engine,” Chamberlain said. “We know that. We’ve reassured them that we’re not interested in harming that interest or jeopardizing tribal compacts.”
State Sen. Roger Chamberlain
Courtesy of Senate Media Services
State Sen. Roger Chamberlain, R-Blaine, stated cellular betting must be a part of the state law since that’s where a lot of the betting action is.
However, Chamberlain said he’s optimistic it remains subject to discussions, and he said he thinks it might be a win for the nation, the tribes and for non-tribal gambling. “There is no reason to shut out the rest of the state and the remainder of the potential consumers and operators and players from getting involved in a perfectly safe and legal firm,” he said. “We expect to get into a place where everybody can agree and I think we can.”
Once it appears evident that tribes would be able to offer sports betting in their casinos if it is made valid for non-tribal gaming, legal advisors notice that sports betting sets up some hard choices such as tribes. The primary issue is that betting on sports — on the outcomes of games, on scores and other outcomes — isn’t especially lucrative for casinos. Another is that under federal law, tribes may only offer gambling within the boundaries of bookings. This makes the most-promising facet of sports betting — remote gambling online or via mobile devices — might be off limits to these, but not to non-tribal sports novels.
Chamberlain said cellular betting must be a part of the state law because that’s where a lot of the gambling action is. Part of the rationale for legalizing it state by state is to catch a few of the bets now made lawfully.
“In this economy and culture you require mobile access to be rewarding,” Chamberlain said.
Online betting would likewise make gaming available in rural and remote areas of the state that might not have casinos or even industrial sports books near. 1 possible solution for the tribes would be to declare that the gaming takes place not where a player’s telephone is, but where the computer server which processes the bet is located. That is far from resolved law, however.
“We can find our way around those problems and do it,” Chamberlain said.
Vig is chairman of the Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux Community of Minnesota, which possesses the Mystic Lake and Little Six casinos, did not shut the door on ultimate tribal interest in sports betting. He did, however, ask the country to move slowly.
“While there’s a desire by some to consider this matter during the current session, it appears that the general public interest will be best served by careful analysis of sports gambling’s consequences in this state, evaluation of other states’ experiences where sports betting was legalized, and thorough consultation with the high number of stakeholders interested in it,” Vig wrote.
A spokesman for the Minnesota Indian Gaming Association said leaders were not readily available for interviews and that Vig’s letter are their only statement on the problem.
State Rep. Laurie Halverson
State Rep. Laurie Halverson
The seat of the home committee that would consider any sports gambling bills said the tribal institution’s letter does not change her position on the problem. Rep. Laurie Halverson, DFL-Eagan, said there are still no patrons in her caucus pushing a bill. Before the tribes left their position known, Halverson said she intended to be cautious and deliberate on the topic.
“I’ve yet to see language or possess whatever introduced,” she said.
But she anticipates legislation will surface, and she wishes to possess at least an information hearing so lawmakers can understand the consequences and hear from both backers and opponents. “I believe we’re all in learning mode,” she said. “If something is that new, that is the legislative model typically. Things take time and we have to be deliberative about these significant modifications to Minnesota law.”
At a press conference Wednesday, Walz said his basic position on the problem will be to legalize and regulate. But he explained that should come just after a procedure for hearings and discussion. “I trust adults to make adult decisions,” he said of gambling. “I also realize that addiction comes in many forms, whether that’s alcohol, tobacco or cannabis or sports gambling and these can have societal consequences which are fairly devastating.
“If the Legislature chooses to take up that, we are definitely interested in working together to make it right,” Walz said.