The Potential Legalization of Sports Betting in Minnesota in 2024
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00:00 But let's start off with one that didn't happen in 2023, which is potentially the state of
00:10 Minnesota having legalized sports betting while a lot of other states around the country
00:15 ended up having legalized sports betting. Minnesota legislation still going on, willing
00:21 to double down on 2024. Pat, I think that's kind of safe, man, to be honest with you.
00:27 I know you don't want to do it. It's like, you know, that parlay that doesn't hit. But
00:30 I don't know. I kind of feel like that's one state that we'll be talking about as having
00:36 legalized sports betting. I'm going to take your prediction from last year. I'm going
00:39 to use it for this year. Yeah, I mean, you're spot on. Like, this was my number one state
00:45 last year because I thought they were pretty, you know, they were right there. I mean, they
00:49 had so for some background, I mean, the year before they had gotten really close, but it
00:54 was a Republican controlled legislator and there was too much going on between the tribes
00:59 and the racetracks and the tribes have a lot of influence in politics there. So and then
01:04 going into the election of 2022, you know, people just thought the Republicans were going
01:08 to win control. And instead, the Democrat Farmer Labor Party, which is big time with
01:15 the tribes, ended up winning the control. So it kind of swayed in and it was like, OK,
01:20 there's no way this doesn't get done. Well, sure enough, the DFL party had a lot of things
01:25 they wanted to get done instead or or quicker and more efficiently. And they put a ton of
01:33 platform things across. And by the end of the session, they turn their attention to
01:37 sports betting. It rolls into next year. So we've already got the tribes and the racetracks
01:44 kind of negotiating to potentially get the deal across the finish line. What is of note
01:52 here is we're at 38 legal markets in the US and there's lots of you know, there's 12 markets
01:58 left or so that, you know, aren't legal. And there's a lot of reasons for that. And most
02:05 of them can be kind of chalked up to very, you know, same as the national framework right
02:11 now, a very divisive partisan politics. And in in in Minnesota, you're seeing the same
02:18 thing sort of, you know, the Republicans now. And here's another thing is sports betting
02:25 has to be a bipartisan issue. You've got Republicans who some are for it, but then you've got some
02:32 who are conservatively morally opposed to it. And that's the same on the Democrat side
02:38 of some people want it and believe it's there for taxes and whatnot. And then you've got
02:42 people who are worried about how it affects the lower rung of society and causes problem
02:48 gaming and the like. So you need the support. And in Minnesota, you've got not quite enough
02:55 Democrats who are willing to push it over the edge. And so you need the Republican support.
03:00 They need the horse tracks to be included in the industry and the tribes don't want
03:05 that. Now, this is a presidential election year. Lots of voter turnout. People are worried
03:10 about what that means, you know, what passing sports betting might mean to their votes.
03:17 And so and in Minnesota, there's thought that the DFL will lose control again, which, you
03:22 know, a lot of people are saying the tribes are going to see this as their last chance
03:25 to get a framework that they prefer and they want. And so that is why Minnesota is my top
03:32 choice again, heading into 2024, like you said. Now, does that mean it happens again?
03:39 I don't know. In my bold prediction that we're going to put out the whole staff, we combined
03:44 to put out a bunch of stuff. I said, I don't think any state gets done, which that's a
03:48 bold prediction. I do think I think two will end up getting done if I'm really being honest
03:53 with myself. But a bold one is nothing gets done.
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