“No Minnesotan should be forced to travel to Iowa for fun.”
This was just one of the many reasons that Rep. Zack Stephenson gave during a second House hearing about bringing sports betting in Minnesota. Stephenson’s legislation, HF2000 with the support of the state tribes and the sports teams, was passed out of committee on Thursday morning and will now move to the House Public Safety Finance and Policy.
DraftKingsGovernment Affairs manager David Pressman attended the hearing to support the bill.
He stated that he supports a Minnesota sports betting framework that protects customers and generates revenue for Minnesota. Pressman didn’t mention his work with the tribes in his testimony.
Stephenson clarified during the Q&A with other legislators that the bill’s scope would only cover sporting events and not election betting.
A competing bill, Jeremy Miller SF2425 was presented on Thursday and referred the matter to the Senate State and Local Government and Veterans Committee. Stephenson’s bill is different in that Miller’s bill would include racetracks and teams on the list of entities that can obtain a sports betting licence.
Stephenson’s bill would create one of the most important problem gambling programs in the US. 40% of tax revenue would go to RG programs if it passes.
