ST. PAUL, Minn. – As Super Bowl Sunday approaches, one Winona lawmaker is working to make sports betting legal in our state. State Senator Jeremy Miller is proposing the Minnesota Sports Betting Act 3.0.
This proposal would allow Minnesota’s 11 tribes to have a license for mobile and/ or on-site betting. There would be a 20% revenue tax on license holders which would then generate an estimated $80 million annually.
That revenue would be going towards things like tax relief on charitable gambling, bringing major sporting events to our state, enhancing horse racing and grants to support youth sports. The bipartisan effort nearly passed in the last legislative session and Senator Miller believes they will be able to get it done this time around.
He says Minnesotans are missing out as 39 states plus Puerto Rico and Washington DC have already legalized sports betting.
Senator Miller says, “sports betting is already taking place in Minnesota, it’s either happening illegally through offshore accounts or through bookies or it’s happening in other states. This is the way to legalize it and also benefit from some of the tax revenue that’s generated.”
Gambling addiction is the main form of pushback. Senator Miller says they are sympathetic to that so this proposal provides funding for problem gambling support and services.
The American Gambling Association projects nearly $1.4 billion to be wagered on this year’s Super Bowl.
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