Minnesota lawmakers are again at risk of falling short on legalizing sports gambling, with the 2025 legislative session set to end on May 19.

Minnesota’s legislature has been pursuing the legalization of sports betting since 2019, following the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2018 decision to overturn the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act, which allowed states to authorize sports wagering. 

Previous attempts at legislation faced challenges due to disagreements over financial interests and control between tribal nations, racetracks and commercial operators, according to CBS. 

Even with support from all eleven Minnesota tribes, state horse tracks and charitable gaming operators, a Senate bill failed to pass in February. Two follow-up bills, S.F. 3414 and H.F. 1842, were introduced to keep the legalization efforts alive.

With little time left in the session and no deal in sight, Minnesota remains an outlier among 40 U.S. states and the District of Columbia without any legal framework for sports betting, according to the American Gaming Association. 

The lack of regulations on daily fantasy sports, or DFS, in Minnesota has allowed some companies to operate in a gray area, according to Sports Handle. Companies structure their games with labels such as fantasy sports or “betting exchanges,” in which users bet against each other rather than traditional sportsbook platforms.

Greg Kajewski, CEO and co-founder of BettorEdge, a peer-to-peer DFS app operating in Minnesota, said fantasy apps differ from sportsbooks because bets are not placed against a bookmaker who financially gains from losses. He added fantasy betting is peer-to-peer, where you are competing against your friends and having fun.

“If I said, ‘How many times, you know, how many push-ups could you do right now?’ And we put, you know, $5-10 on it, that’s a very different type of friendly banter than an actual business that’s out to make money against you,” Kajewski said.

Many DFS apps, such as Sleeper, PrizePicks and Underdog, voluntarily limit their selection of gambling options despite not being regulated or restricted. For example, Sleeper restricts users to only one pick per bettor and excludes moneyline bets — wagers placed on a team to win.

Other popular platforms like FanDuel and DraftKings chose to exclude Minnesota from their services rather than risk legal repercussions. 

Minnesota Sen. Jeremy Miller, R-Winona, said illegal sports betting is prevalent in Minnesota, and those who previously opposed legalization are beginning to recognize the extent of the illegal gambling already taking place. 

Online Minnesota sports gambling analytics found that $929 million was spent illegally on sports gambling in 2023, according to a report from Play Minnesota, an organization that prioritizes gambling industry news and updates.

“Gambling in Minnesota is already very readily available,” Miller said. “You can walk down to your local convenience stores and play the Minnesota lottery, you can go to a casino, you can bet on horses in Minnesota, I think you might even be able to buy lottery tickets online.”

A 24-hour voluntary informal survey of University of Minnesota students found that 40.6% of 480 students participated in fantasy sports, while only 16.5% of 532 students bet on sports regularly. 

McKray Tuma, a third-year economics student at the University, said he stopped betting after losing too much money. Tuma, originally from Rochester, Minnesota, said he lost around $200 through apps like FanDuel and PrizePicks during his two years at Hofstra University in New York before transferring to Minnesota. 

“I probably don’t make the best decisions, I think I put too much money on certain bets,” Tuma said. “I just throw like $10 or $20 on multiple picks, like five picks.”

Hudson Weber, a 22-year-old fourth-year University student from Onalaska, Wisconsin, said he never uses his own money on the apps, relying instead on promotional offers and continuing to play with his winnings. He bets around once a week and believes that gambling becomes a problem when it leads to financial hardship, especially if someone is betting every day.

“I think it’s easy to get attracted to winning a big profit, and then get sucked into that habit and think that you’ll make it back, but you probably won’t,” Weber said. 

Problem gambling is not defined by how often someone gambles, but by the disruptive impact on their life. Problem gambling can be characterized by financial problems, relationship issues and mental health consequences, according to the National Council on Problem Gambling. 

Susan Sheridan Tucker, executive director of the Minnesota Alliance on Problem Gambling, said bettors are manipulated through game tactics, like promotions, that entice users to continue playing and spending money. She said the biggest misconception with gambling addictions is understanding its severity. 

“It is not a lack of willpower. It is not a moral failing,” Sheridan Tucker said. “It has the same impact on the brain as a drug addiction.”

One of the major legislative hang-ups involves Minnesota’s two racetracks — Canterbury Park and Running Aces — which want a share of the sports betting market by operating their own sportsbook or partnering with mobile betting platforms, according to Minnesota Bets. However, the state’s tribes have consistently advocated for exclusive control over sports betting, a major reason the bill has stalled in the last few years. 

Although the Senate’s proposals attempt to accommodate the interests of both tribal nations and racetracks — giving tribes control over mobile sports betting while allowing limited on-site betting at racetracks — it is unclear whether there is enough time or support to push the bill through both chambers.

Opponents also worry that expanding gambling could worsen addiction and lead to increased problem gambling, according to CBS.

Legislators like Rep. Cedrick Frazier, DFL-New Hope, lead author of the House bill, are actively working with MNAPG to place a strong emphasis on problem gambling prevention. Frazier said the goal is to prevent young people from falling into harmful gambling behaviors and to make sure resources are available if they do.

“Legalizing sports betting in Minnesota gives us the opportunity to not just acknowledge the problem, but to actively address it by creating a regulatory framework and dedicating real resources to prevention, intervention and support that don’t actually exist,” Frazier said.

He emphasized the value of learning from states that have already legalized sports betting, using their experiences to shape a more effective and informed approach. 

“We’re going to be able to start from a place where we’ve seen what works, what didn’t work, and to put that in an initial onset to prevent as much as possible as we can with problem gambling,” Frazier said.