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Minnesota lawmakers are closing in on a sweepstakes casino ban, while sports betting remains stuck. The Senate bill has kept advancing with little resistance and now looks far more likely to pass than any sports betting measure.
Good to Know
Minnesota appears ready to join the list of states banning sweepstakes casino games. A Senate bill targeting digital dual currency gaming has moved through four committees and could reach the full floor in the coming days or weeks. If that happens, passage looks likely with broad bipartisan support.
The House version has drawn less attention, but it may not matter. If the Senate passes its bill, the House could simply take up that version. With no changes, it would carry the same result as passing its own bill.
That puts sweepstakes far ahead of sports betting in Minnesota. Lawmakers look positioned to act on one issue before month end, but no similar path has formed for a sports betting bill.
Supporters of the ban say the state needs to shut down thousands of unregulated gaming sites that operate without consumer safeguards or problem gambling support. Sweepstakes operators have pushed back, saying the dual currency model is legal and works more like a promotional system, comparing it to offers from a company such as McDonald’s.
That defense has not done much. More than a dozen states have either passed or considered bans on sweepstakes casinos, and none have formally legalized the model. Indiana and Maine have already passed bans this year, while Oklahoma, Maryland, and Tennessee are among the states that have also weighed similar action.
Lawmakers are close to passing a ban on digital dual currency sweepstakes casino games.
It has cleared four Senate committees and could soon reach the full Senate floor.
Yes. The bill appears to have broad bipartisan backing and has faced only minor opposition.
The House version has seen less focus, but the House could still take up the Senate bill and pass that instead.
They say unregulated sites operate without consumer protections or problem gambling help.
They say the dual currency model is legal and closer to a promotional offer than gambling.
No. More than a dozen states have passed or considered bans, but none have formally legalized them.