Senate committee deadlocks on bill to legalize mobile sports wagering in Minnesota

Senate File 757, a bill to legalize mobile sports wagering in Minnesota, drew hours of testimony Thursday, Feb. 13, 2025, before the Senate Committee on State and Local Government and failed to advance after a 6–6 committee tie.

Senator Klein, the bill’s author, told the committee the bill would legalize mobile sports wagering while preserving tribal exclusivity over licenses and dedicating portions of tax revenue to racetracks, tribal aid and problem gambling treatment. “This bill, for the first time, enjoys the support of the previous combatants in this area. The 11 sovereign tribal nations, Canterbury Park, the allied charities, and the Minnesota professional sports teams,” Klein said during his introduction.

The proposal would permit statewide mobile wagering under a framework that the author said included consumer protections such as prohibitions on pop-up advertising and advertising at schools, a ban on college proposition bets, mandatory default daily wagering limits (which users could later change), and a requirement for the commissioner to develop methods to identify individuals at highest risk for problem gambling. Klein said the bill sets a taxation rate described in testimony as a 22% rate and directs revenue allocations including 15% to racetrack purses, 15% to a tribal equalization account, and an annual allocation identified in testimony of $6,800,000 to the Department of Human Services for problem-gambling awareness and treatment.

Supporters told the committee the bill…