Are Minnesota Sports Betting Hopes Still Alive?

When 2025 legislative sessions ended in May, the most recent Minnesota sports betting efforts went entirely unaddressed. Proposals were on the table, but contrary to the last round of meetings, they never progressed anywhere meaningful. This effectively means a push to legalize sports betting in Minnesota will be on hold until 2026.

Except, maybe not.

Special sessions can be called following the adjournment of formal ones. While they generally are not called specifically for the legalization of sports betting, we have seen it happen before. Just last summer, in 2024, online sports betting in Nebraska cracked the agenda of an emergency session. Nothing came out of it. The Cornhusker State is still in a holding pattern with online sports gambling.

Nevertheless, if a special session is called, it’s proof of a certain commitment to debating and maybe even hashing out the topic. And as it turns out, Minnesota sports betting may be an important enough priority to warrant such an action.

Legislators Open to Special Session for Minnesota Sports Betting

The subject of a special Minnesota sports betting session was broached when it became clear this year’s push would fall flat. During the last round of meetings, a sports betting bill actually made it past the House of Representatives. This time around, policymakers could not even find common ground on approving a study about the impact of legal Minnesota sports betting.

This prompted talk of a special session. While many consider it a long shot, others actually think the emergency meetup is inevitable. As Matthew Blake of the Minnesota Post writes:

“On Tuesday, the Senate Taxes Committee rejected a proposal ‘to study, evaluate, provide recommendations and issue a report on the legalization of sports betting.’ The measure, not to legalize sports gambling but instead to study the possibility of one day maybe legalizing sports gambling, had been part of an omnibus tax spending bill. The tax bill and other critical pieces of legislation to keep the state government operating are, more or less, stalled out as Gov. Tim Walz and legislative leaders hold closed-door negotiations on a two-year budget bill. A budget will almost definitely not be finalized before the current end of the legislative session…Senate Majority Leader Erin Murphy, DFL-St. Paul, told reporters Wednesday that, “a special session is very, very likely if not inevitable.’”

It is important to note the scheduling of a special session may not actually include the future of Minnesota sports betting. As Blake notes, the gambling initiative is under a broader tax-spending bill. Policymakers may decide to tackle other elements of the measure, such as the state’s budget, while casting sports betting off to the side.

One Issue Points to Sports Betting Falling by the Wayside Yet Again

People like Taxes Committee Vice Chair Matt Klein, the primary driver of the latest Minnesota sports betting push, will advocate for the gambling discussion to continue with a special session. That may ensure the topic makes it onto the agenda.

Still, the extent to which this matters is debatable. After all, it seems like support for sports betting is wavering. And if it isn’t, it ast least no longer feels like a priority.

Remember, the most recent flop isn’t even specific to the legalization of sports betting in Minnesota. The opposition is in reference to simply studying the subject.

Commissioning research into the impact sports betting in the United States has on the population is pretty straightforward. Aside from the costs involved, it is harmless. If anything, it should appeal to everyone on both sides of the aisle. Studying the potential effects of Minnesota sports betting, both good and bad, amounts to more information. The intel gathered can help better shape this discussion. It shines a spotlight on both the major benefits and flaws. Lawmakers can then debate and rework legislation accordingly. Heck, in theory, the information obtained can even be used to entirely kill future Minnesota sports betting legalization attempts.

The Process May be Stalled, But the Push for Sports Betting in Minnesota Isn’t Going Anywhere

Even if sports betting doesn’t make it into the inevitable special session, the attempts to legalize it aren’t going anywhere. The proof is in the failures to green light it themselves.

Minnesota sports betting bills would not continuously be proposed each session if interest in it was anything less than substantial. We know tribes are for it, so long as they have exclusivity over its offerings. We also know pro sports franchises in the region are in favor of it as well. This says nothing of the sizable swathe of Senators and House Representatives who want to see the market regulated in exchange for the tax revenue it can generate.

What’s more, as Senator Klein and others repeatedly note, they believe a majority of Minnesotans want sports betting as well. Plenty of people cite estimates that say tons of gambling is already happening in The Land of 10,000 Lakes. The thinking goes that this proves the voting population will approve of a measure that makes it onto the electoral ballot in 2026, or even if sports betting is legalized through the adjustment of current tribal gaming compacts.

Of course, there is no way of knowing for sure. That is why the most recent proposal seeks to invest in research on the matter. So it seems like that will be the next step in the process. Sure, at one point, it seemed like Minnesota sports betting wouldn’t require it. Now, though, it feels as if the state must approve the commission of a study before sports betting goes any further.

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