STATE OF PLAY: MINNESOTA
Online sports betting is a form of entertainment that responsible adults enjoy as part of their game-day experience. And it’s already happening all over Minnesota.
Right now Minnesota is losing $80 million every year to neighboring states and worse — the unregulated, offshore betting sites that put financial and personal information at risk, do not prioritize responsible play, and do not generate revenue for the state.
Legalizing online sports betting can keep that money in Minnesota, funding critical programs and protecting citizens — including minors — from the shady unregulated market.
Legal sports betting:
- Ensures personal freedom — Adults can choose to engage in a recreational leisure activity that enhances their gameday experience.
- Provides safeguards for players — Ensures that licensed, accountable sports betting operators provide Minnesota residents with safe, secure, and responsible betting options.
- Keeps tax dollars in Minnesota — Instead of losing millions to illegal markets, we can use that revenue to support vital community services.
- Creates benefits for local communities — A regulated industry brings new tax revenue and financial growth to local communities.
THE FACTS ABOUT LEGAL SPORTS BETTING – DOWNLOAD
Illegal sports betting hurts consumers
Legal and regulated online sports betting offers a safe alternative to the illicit offshore marketplace, which continues to flourish in states that haven’t yet legalized online sports betting.
Experts estimate consumers spend tens of billions on the illegal sports betting market each year, depriving state and local governments of significant tax revenue. These illegal and unregulated offshore sports betting websites are unsafe products – offering no consumer protections, age verification or responsible gaming protections. Illicit market users also routinely fall victim to scams and find themselves unable to remove funds from their accounts.
LATEST NEWS
New data from geofencing specialists GeoComply has illustrated just how much people in states that don’t offer regulated online sports betting are trying to access sportsbooks
“A lot of Minnesotans are already betting on sports on their telephones, on their mobile devices, and they’re doing it illegally and through offshore platforms,” Klein told the Pioneer Press
Legal gaming is one of the most regulated industries in the U.S., and the industry itself invests heavily in responsible gaming initiatives to ensure that participants can engage in this activity positively
"The gambling frenzy is mostly about people being free to enjoy themselves
Why would a bookie extend a line of credit of at least $4.5 million to someone who said he was drawing an $85,000 salary as an interpreter with the Los Angeles Angels
Fliff and similar apps can essentially groom underage people, advocates warn, training them to gamble at ages when they are more susceptible to addiction