The updated sports betting proposal in Minnesota has been approved by the committee.
Representative Zack Stephenson of Minnesota has made revisions to his bill related to sports betting. The modifications include the addition of daily fantasy sports, approval for electronic pull tabs, and an increase in the proposed taxes by twofold.
On March 21, as the bill for legalizing sports betting passed through the house, the HF 2000 underwent a revamp.
Stephenson has strongly supported the legalization of digital sports betting at the state level for the last three years. The A-2 amendment was passed by a vote of 8-4, followed by the approval of the bill by a vote of 8-5.
The bill for sports betting is currently making its way to the tax committee.
It has been six years and we are still going strong.
The state of North Star does not have a deadline for crossovers. Their legislative session is scheduled to end on May 20th.
If sports betting is not legalized in this current session, legislators will have to wait until next year and continue to create new bills, as they will not be carried over.
This will likely not be unexpected news for legislators who have faced difficulties in legalizing sports betting over the last six years.
In 2022, Stephenson was able to pass a bill in the House. However, the bill was not approved by the Senate’s vote.
One of the main obstacles has been determining whether state horse tracks should be included in betting options for horse racing. However, a senate bill that includes these tracks has successfully gone through six committees.
The proposed bill suggests a taxation rate of 20%, and it is prepared to be considered by the finance committee.
“Fundraising through Games of Chance and Tear-Open Tickets”
Stephenson’s proposed changes aim to establish a regulatory framework for the unregulated fantasy sports industry.
Without providing details, since the amendment is not yet available to the public, the main modifications will pertain to the use of pull-tabs and charitable gaming.
Currently, the primary source of tax revenue for the state is charitable gaming, followed by game developers and then charities in third place.
The proposed change to the bill aims to allocate a maximum of $40 million to the Allied Charities of Minnesota in the coming years.
There are differing opinions about how pull-tab machines work, as some state tribes argue that these machines bear more resemblance to slot machines now. As a result, this leads to a conflict with the tribe’s exclusive privileges to provide casino games.
Stephenson is confident that increasing the suggested tax rate from 10% to 20% will resolve both problems.
During the meeting, the committee primarily discussed the two horse tracks that are currently owned by the state, along with Running Aces’ chief financial officer, Tracie Wilson.
The tracks would suffer significant harm from the unjust amendment, according to Wilson. He also added that the legislation, which favors certain individuals over others, would greatly weaken horse racing.
According to Andy Platto, executive director of the Minnesota Indian Gaming Association, the tribe will continue to evaluate the bill, which they strongly endorse, even though there are some concerns about possible changes to policies.
The current legislation under consideration by the Senate includes a suggestion to raise taxes to 20% and also ban in-game gambling.
The newest pull-tab agreement, brokered by Stephenson, is also not included in the Senate’s bill. Horse tracks are also not considered in the bill.
Earlier this week at Metro State University, Craig Johnson discussed the need for the state to provide training for gambling counselors in relation to the proposed betting bill.
