Should Minnesota Legalize Sports Betting? [POLL]

ST. PAUL -- With the Super Bowl coming up this Sunday a lot of people will be betting on the big game, however, for those of us here in Minnesota that's still illegal.

Democratic Representative Zack Stephenson of Coon Rapids is renewing a push to change that. He says he's been having conversations with stakeholders since October and plans to introduce a bill to legalize sports betting in Minnesota in the coming weeks. He calls it "the strongest push we've had by a significant margin".

Thirty states now offer it, including all of the states that surround Minnesota. Stephenson says each state has its own rules.

In Iowa, for example, they have mobile sports betting all across the state of Iowa. If you are in the state of Iowa, you can hop on your phone download an app and wager on sports. In Wisconsin and in South Dakota, you have to physically go to casinos and wager on-site in person.

Stephenson says he favors mobile sports betting similar to what Iowa is doing.

He says legalizing it in the state is better than the current alternative.

They are just using offshore websites and digital workarounds to do it. The problem with that is if something goes wrong they aren't protected.

Stephenson says he doesn't want a big state tax on sports betting, given the state's strong financial position. Also, he wants Minnesotans to use legal avenues and not be turned away because of a big tax.