The Minnesota House Commerce, Finance, and Policy Committee moved HF 2000, a statewide mobile sports betting bill that puts tribes in charge, forward on Monday. The legislation has broad support from the state’s 11 tribes, as well as its professional sports teams.
The bill, which is sponsored by Rep. Zack Stephenson, now moves on to the House Judiciary and Civil Law Committee. Stephenson introduced a similar bill in 2022 that got through the House before the Senate amended it to include horse racetracks, at which point the Minnesota Indian Gaming Association (MIGA) withdrew its support.
This year’s version of the House bill would again give the tribes a monopoly and would allow each to have one wagering skin, or digital platform, plus a retail location. Tribes could then contract with commercial operators — such as Barstool Sportsbook, DraftKings, or FanDuel — to run their sportsbook platforms or opt to operate their own. Wagering would be taxed at 10% for all bets placed off tribal lands, while wagers placed in Indian Country would not be taxed.
A key difference between the 2022 version of the bill and this year’s is related to licensing. In 2022, Stephenson proposed a bill with a hub-and-spoke licensing setup, but the 2023 version would license tribes directly.