Minnesota Lawmakers Aim To Add In-Game Wagering Ban To Legal Sports Betting Legislation

The effort to legalize sports betting in the state of Minnesota took an interesting turn on Tuesday. Some controversial amendments would ban in-game wagering and increase consumer protections. Residents of the state currently do not have access to our best sports betting sites.

Minnesota has been viewed as one of the jurisdictions with a decent chance of becoming the newest addition to the U.S. legal sports betting family thanks to some hard work done by a group of Senators in the State. 

It remains to be seen if the seemingly drastic amendments to Senate File 1949, which was originally drafted in 2023 and picked up by Sen. Matt Klein this year, will be accepted and ultimately implemented by Minnesota state lawmakers. 

The push to ban in-game betting would make Minnesota sports betting unique in the U.S. legal sports betting industry. No other state currently operating in the American market has restrictions on what has quickly become the most popular form of sports betting out there.

Legislation moving, but in the right direction?

Senate File 1949 (SF 1949) has been agreed to by the Minnesota Senators and, more specifically, the Minnesota Senate Commerce and Consumer Committee. That's the good news for a proposed legal sports betting platform that it is hoped will be able to launch in 2024 while putting the North Star State on par with 30 states that are already reaping the tax benefits of such an industry.

Sen. Jordan Rasmusson took the bold step of proposing a ban on in-game betting as part of the legislative measure. The Senate passed that measure and even gained the support of Senator Klein, the original author of SF 1949.

While widely viewed as a good thing to have a broader focus on problem gambling, his efforts to tie in-game betting to the issue of harm caused by legal sports betting could ultimately prove to be a drag on the industry. It all but eliminates one of the most popular bet types in the broad American market.

Hearing from both sides

Sen. Rasmusson brought receipts in his argument for the ban on in-game sports betting for his state to “mitigate some of the harms that can come from problem gaming.” Rasmusson's argument included the fact that:

“Problem gambling experts have identified in-game betting as some of the most problematic for problem gamblers because it can take a single sports event and turn it into hundreds of betting opportunities for consumers. It can lead to loss chasing and other concerning factors.” 

Jeremy Kudon, president of the Sports Betting Alliance also weighed in with his thoughts on the proposed amendments to the Minnesota legal sports wagering plan. It, understandably, was not nearly as negative toward in-game betting for state residents. 

“In-game wagers account for over 50% of all bets in the legal market,” he said. Kudon predicts that up to 75% of sports wagers in the country will be of an in-game variety by 2023. Under the proposed amendment, not only Minnesota residents but also needy tax coffers that will benefit from a robust legal sports betting platform will be missing out.

According to Kudon's figures, that means an industry that was expected to generate between $50 million and $75 million in revenues in the first year would see about $20 million less due to just one amendment.

Other amendments

Along with the ban on in-game betting, Senators in Minnesota have made other moves to give bettors in the North Star State what they deem as the “safest sports betting in the nation.”

The current amendment for SF 1949 requires sports betting users in the state to set limits on daily deposits and losses accumulated with Minnesota sports betting apps and retail providers. Users could opt out of this provision if they so desired.

It also assures that studies on problem gambling will proceed in the state and that establishing a problem gambling hotline will be a major prerequisite for the launch of Minnesota's legal sports betting.

Sen. Jordan Rasmussen also attempted to introduce a ban on college sports betting, but that amendment failed.

As it stands

The new Minnesota State sports betting bill looks slightly different than the one that started last year. It has so far advanced past a couple of hurdles during the current Minnesota legislative session. As it stands, any sports betting bill in Minnesota will include:

• Prohibition of popular in in-game betting opportunities
• A new all-encompassing problem gambling hotline
• A promise to create a host of studies on best practices to identify problem gambling
• Strict self-imposed limits for bettors in the state

So, it is “wait and see time” in the Minnesota legal sports betting market once again. Legislation on the industry is definitely moving in the North Star State, but it remains to be seen if that movement is in the right direction.