Minnesota Sports Betting Legalization Efforts Regressed in 2025

• The Minnesota legislative session ended on Monday
• Minnesota lawmakers never seriously took a run at legalized sports betting this year
• It was a massive step back from the 2024 efforts

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Legalized Minnesota sports betting came close to becoming a reality in 2024. In 2025? It never stood a chance.

The Minnesota legislative session ended yesterday without the state ever seriously considering sports betting legalization. Lawmakers introduced several sports betting bills during this session, but none came close to approval.

As efforts stalled out quickly in 2025, it raises several questions about state lawmakers ever being on the same page to legalize Minnesota sports betting.

Minnesota Sports Betting Not a Session Focus

The Minnesota legislative session began on rocky footing earlier this year as Republicans and Democratic–Farmer–Labor Party members vied for control over the House of Representatives. A vacant seat in the House – due to Democrat Curtis Johnson not living in the district he represented – was not determined until March after Minnesota DFLs won a special election and restored a 67-67 representative tie.

The fight for control derailed early efforts in the House for extracurricular bills, such as sports betting, and with just two months remaining after the special election there seemed to not be enough time for any serious discussions to happen for the legislation.

While several sports betting bills were introduced in the 2025 session, none came close to approval.

Bills Stall Out in Committee

At least three sports betting bills were introduced in 2025, but the tone was set early on in the session.

Sen. Matt Klein’s (DFL-53) bill, SF 757, a promising bill to legalize retail and online sports betting for the state’s 11 Native American Tribes, surprisingly did not move out the state and local government committee in February. It was the legislation’s first committee stop and many expected it to at least move closer to the Senate floor.

Klein’s bill even boasted a compromise between the 11 state tribes, charitable organization, and racetracks as to who should control Minnesota sports betting, one of the major hurdles sports betting faced in years past.

Klein’s bill was the first to find a compromise between all three groups. Klein’s bill would have given control over Minnesota sports betting to the state’s 11 tribes.

The following tribes would have been eligible to offer retail and/or online sports betting:

• Bois Forte Band of Chippewa
• Fond du Lac Band of Lake Superior Chippewa
• Grand Portage Band of Chippewa
• Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe
• Lower Sioux Indian Community
• Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe
• Prairie Island Indian Community
• Red Lake Nation
• Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux Community
• Upper Sioux Community
• White Earth Nation

Despite the agreement, the bill did not receive the necessary votes to move out of committee and died.

Klein’s Senate counterpart, Sen. Jeremy Miller (R-26), introduced the Minnesota Sports Betting Act 3.0 earlier in the year. His bill gave sports betting control to state tribes and would have taxed the new form of gaming at a 20% rate.

The legislation was referred to the Senate state and local government committee and never received a hearing.

Responsible Gaming Fears Before Session Began

A Minnesota Senator also held a high-profile hearing on the dangers of legalized sports betting in January. Sen. John Marty (DFL-40), a longtime opponent of Minnesota sports betting, held a hearing on the economic, health, and social harms of online sports betting with the Senate finance committee a week before the 2025 session began.

“There have been many sports betting hearings in Minnesota focusing on the economic benefits of sports betting, but none on the social harms,” he said.

The hearing featured a number of testifiers commenting on the dangers of legalized sports betting. Scott Baker, a professor at Kellogg School at Northwestern University and author of “Gambling Away Stability: Sports Betting’s Impact on Vulnerable Households,” presented data showing that families in states with legalized online sports betting with members who participate have less overall investments, have an overall reduction of financial health, increased credit card debt, and reduced credits than families living in states without legalized online sports betting.

Marty eventually introduced his own sports betting bill, SF 978, which set a tax rate of no less than 40% for licensed operators and included a bevy of responsible gaming measures for customers. The bill never moved out of committee.

So, What’s Next for 2026?

It’s an interesting question. While it seems like lawmakers came into 2025 with an agreement between the state tribes, charitable organizations, and professional sports teams, it remains to be seen if that compromise will exist into 2026.

If not, it puts Minnesota lawmakers back at square one. But, with no contentious special elections in the House next year, lawmakers may be able to begin work and discussions on potential bills earlier in 2026.

Or perhaps Minnesota professional sports teams will go the route of Missouri franchises, and head up efforts to put a sports betting question to Minnesota voters through a referendum. Professional Missouri sports franchises, namely the St. Louis Cardinals, organized an effort to place a sports betting referendum question on the state’s 2024 general election ballot, which was eventually approved by voters.

Missouri will launch sports betting on Dec. 1, 2025.