Industry Calls Minnesota Online Sports Betting Hearing a Media Stunt
Minnesota has considered legalizing sports betting since the US Supreme Court overturned PASPA in 2018. Senator John Marty held a public hearing on the issue on January 8. However, industry representatives called the Minnesota online sports betting hearing a media stunt because the senator didn’t invite them.
The state Senate finance committee purposefully excluded the industry from the hearing. As Marty admitted in his remarks before the start of evidence, the state has grappled with the legalization question. Nevertheless, he noted that no prior hearing had focused on harm. Prior hearings may not have focused on harm. However, advocates for problem and responsible gambling spoke several times.
Sports betting is presently permitted in Minnesota, according to Marty. Betting with friends or strangers, he added, is perfectly permissible. But it’s against the law to engage in sports betting if a third party, such as a corporation, might take your money and go. Gambling addiction, he said, is just as potent as addiction to opioids or any other substance. The senator has his definition of what is a sportsbook.
Minnesota Online Sports Betting Hearing
According to gambling news reports, recovering addicts gave moving testimony during the hearing. Academics, advocates for responsible gaming, and those who study the issue all presented convincing statistics. On the other hand, not a single gambling operator was asked to appear before the committee. In addition, they allegedly received the message that they were not welcome.
John Pappas of the iDevelopment and Economic Association (iDEA) verified that the group had been denied their request to provide comment. He claimed that Marty’s staff informed the trade group for the internet gambling business that they were only interested in hearing about the negatives, not the positives.
Like the other witnesses, Fanatics Betting & Gaming’s head of government affairs, Brandt Iden, intensely reacted to the biased hearing. Iden introduced and passed a measure legalizing internet sports betting and gambling in 2019 after he had served as a state legislator in Michigan.
Supporters of legitimate internet gambling and betting, Fanatics is an affiliate of the Sports Betting Alliance (SBA). FanDuel, BetMGM, and DraftKings are all members of the SBA. Today, the group voiced its displeasure with the industry as a whole.
Bi-Partisan Support for Sports Wagering
Minnesota has a history of bipartisan support for legal sports betting, so this hearing was one of the first of its kind in 2025. Legalization has been a long-standing goal of Representative Zack Stephenson and Senator Matt Klein (DFL). Stephenson was on the verge of brokering a deal during the previous session. Eleven tribes in Minnesota have received federal recognition, and charitable gaming is another area of interest for the state’s gamblers. It was noted that the tribes, who own exclusive gaming rights in the state, refrained from attending the session.
Even though none have been submitted, Klein has promised a bill to legalize gambling in Minnesota. Senator Jeremy Miller of the Republican Party is another Republican still fighting for legalization. On social media, he expressed his dedication to collaborating on the swift passage of a sports betting bill in Minnesota.
Although none are finance committee members, they have spent years discussing and teaching others about sports betting. The Minnesota legislature may have a difficult time passing any legislation this year. There is one open seat in the Senate after the November elections, and the parties’ numbers are 33–33. There is a 70-64 majority for the Democratic-Farmer-Labor (DFL) Party in the House of Representatives.
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