The Potential Legalization of Sports Betting in Minnesota in 2024

Watch The Potential Legalization of Sports Betting in Minnesota in 2024 - SportsGrid on Dailymotion

Transcript

00:00 But let's start off with one that didn't happen in 2023, which is potentially the state of

00:10 Minnesota having legalized sports betting while a lot of other states around the country

00:15 ended up having legalized sports betting. Minnesota legislation still going on, willing

00:21 to double down on 2024. Pat, I think that's kind of safe, man, to be honest with you.

00:27 I know you don't want to do it. It's like, you know, that parlay that doesn't hit. But

00:30 I don't know. I kind of feel like that's one state that we'll be talking about as having

00:36 legalized sports betting. I'm going to take your prediction from last year. I'm going

00:39 to use it for this year. Yeah, I mean, you're spot on. Like, this was my number one state

00:45 last year because I thought they were pretty, you know, they were right there. I mean, they

00:49 had so for some background, I mean, the year before they had gotten really close, but it

00:54 was a Republican controlled legislator and there was too much going on between the tribes

00:59 and the racetracks and the tribes have a lot of influence in politics there. So and then

01:04 going into the election of 2022, you know, people just thought the Republicans were going

01:08 to win control. And instead, the Democrat Farmer Labor Party, which is big time with

01:15 the tribes, ended up winning the control. So it kind of swayed in and it was like, OK,

01:20 there's no way this doesn't get done. Well, sure enough, the DFL party had a lot of things

01:25 they wanted to get done instead or or quicker and more efficiently. And they put a ton of

01:33 platform things across. And by the end of the session, they turn their attention to

01:37 sports betting. It rolls into next year. So we've already got the tribes and the racetracks

01:44 kind of negotiating to potentially get the deal across the finish line. What is of note

01:52 here is we're at 38 legal markets in the US and there's lots of you know, there's 12 markets

01:58 left or so that, you know, aren't legal. And there's a lot of reasons for that. And most

02:05 of them can be kind of chalked up to very, you know, same as the national framework right

02:11 now, a very divisive partisan politics. And in in in Minnesota, you're seeing the same

02:18 thing sort of, you know, the Republicans now. And here's another thing is sports betting

02:25 has to be a bipartisan issue. You've got Republicans who some are for it, but then you've got some

02:32 who are conservatively morally opposed to it. And that's the same on the Democrat side

02:38 of some people want it and believe it's there for taxes and whatnot. And then you've got

02:42 people who are worried about how it affects the lower rung of society and causes problem

02:48 gaming and the like. So you need the support. And in Minnesota, you've got not quite enough

02:55 Democrats who are willing to push it over the edge. And so you need the Republican support.

03:00 They need the horse tracks to be included in the industry and the tribes don't want

03:05 that. Now, this is a presidential election year. Lots of voter turnout. People are worried

03:10 about what that means, you know, what passing sports betting might mean to their votes.

03:17 And so and in Minnesota, there's thought that the DFL will lose control again, which, you

03:22 know, a lot of people are saying the tribes are going to see this as their last chance

03:25 to get a framework that they prefer and they want. And so that is why Minnesota is my top

03:32 choice again, heading into 2024, like you said. Now, does that mean it happens again?

03:39 I don't know. In my bold prediction that we're going to put out the whole staff, we combined

03:44 to put out a bunch of stuff. I said, I don't think any state gets done, which that's a

03:48 bold prediction. I do think I think two will end up getting done if I'm really being honest

03:53 with myself. But a bold one is nothing gets done.

03:56 [MUSIC]