Sports betting fails to pass by Minnesota legislative deadline

ST. PAUL — A push to legalize sports activities betting in Minnesota didn’t go within the Legislature earlier than the common session ended late Sunday night time, regardless of bipartisan assist within the Senate and the Home of Representatives.

Payments in each chambers would have allowed the state’s tribal casinos to run in-person and cellular sports activities betting for folks 21 and older in Minnesota and set priorities for the modest tax revenues the playing would generate for the state. However a disagreement over whether or not to permit two Twin Cities space horse racing tracks to additionally host betting finally derailed the push.

The Senate model of the authorized sports activities betting invoice would have allowed Canterbury Park in Shakopee and Working Aces in Columbus to supply sports activities betting, one thing the Minnesota Indian Gaming Affiliation opposes. Gov. Tim Walz mentioned he wouldn’t signal into regulation sports activities betting laws not supported by the state’s tribal nations.

A Senate committee on Thursday superior that invoice towards a vote of the complete Senate, however Home Speaker Melissa Hortman at a information convention the following day mentioned the inclusion of horse tracks threw a “monkey wrench” into the method and that she didn’t suppose the invoice may transfer ahead.

The tribal gaming foyer opposed the Senate model of the invoice, and whereas the Home was capable of go its model of Sports activities betting on Could 12, the Senate model solely handed out of committee final week and by no means received a vote from the complete chamber.

Minnesota is surrounded by states that permit authorized sports activities betting in some type, and greater than 30 states have legalized it since 2018 when the U.S. Supreme Courtroom threw out a federal regulation banning the apply.

The percentages of Minnesota legalizing sports activities betting appeared higher than ever this yr. Earlier than lawmakers convened in January, Democrats and Republicans in key management positions in each the Home and Senate expressed curiosity in getting a invoice handed. In March, the tribal gaming affiliation expressed assist for the Home invoice to legalize sports activities betting.

Reps. Zack Stephenson, DFL-Coon Rapids, and Pat Garofalo, R-Farmington, led authorized sports activities betting efforts within the Home. Sen. Roger Chamberlain, R-Lino Lakes, sponsored a invoice within the Senate that had the assist of Democratic-Farmer-Labor Sen. Karla Bigham of Cottage Grove.

Garofalo expressed frustration at the truth that a proposal with bipartisan assist in each chambers didn’t attain the governor’s desk to be signed into regulation

“(There are) too many legislators centered on brief time period political issues as an alternative of interested by what’s finest for the entire state,” he mentioned. “The sports activities playing subject is symbolic of how screwed up the lawmaking course of is in Minnesota.”