At the first legislative hearing of 2024 on legalized mobile sports betting on Thursday, lawmakers expressed widespread concerns about the socio-economic impact of the massive expansion of gambling.
Rep. Dave Baker (R-Wilmar) got to the heart of the legalization bill when he asked, “Why is it so important to bring this to mobile devices?” Baker pointed out that telephone and gambling opportunities will always be available to everyone.
The bill's lead sponsor, Rep. Zach Stevenson, DFL Coon Rapids, responded that Minnesotans can already easily engage in illegal gambling on their cell phones. “The purpose of this bill is to address illegal activity and try to regulate and control it and protect consumers,” Stevenson said.
Stephenson said the bill would have safeguards such as banning push notifications from gambling platforms and imposing a three-hour waiting period after funds are transferred from a bank account to a gambling app.
After a discussion that focused primarily on the negative effects of legalization, the House Human Services and Finance Committee sent the bill to the House State and Local Government Committee on a split vote. Thursday's legislative session did not address core tensions between the state's Indian tribes and the two racetracks, and their representatives did not speak to lawmakers.
The bill is far from a consensus, and the outlook remains uncertain. The Senate has yet to begin a public debate on legalization this session, leaving the issue of finding a deal that satisfies the tribes that control licenses and are likely to partner with gaming platforms, as well as the trucks that want some of the rights. Advocates are working behind the scenes. action.
Susan Sheridan Tucker, executive director of the Minnesota Alliance on Problem Gambling, was the only person to testify. Although she voiced her concerns, she found a sympathetic audience among committee members.
“This is a real addiction. It's a gambling disorder. It's recognized by the DSM-5,” she said, adding that if Congress is going to expand gambling, it needs to expand education and treatment efforts. Ta.
Gambling addiction affects the lives of many Minnesotans. According to a 2019 state survey, approximately 250,000 Minnesota adults have a gambling problem, Sheridan Tucker said. Citing a 2022 student survey conducted by the Ministry of Social Welfare, he said about 6,000 high school students fall into the category of gambling addicts.
“Additional funding is absolutely needed. There's a lot of work to be done,” said Sheridan Tucker, adding that with more funding, she would launch a statewide education campaign about the dangers of gambling.
Minnesotans already spend $4 billion a year on legal gambling, and the numbers are alarming, she said. “That's a lot of discretionary funds,” Sheridan Tucker said.
Her organization only has three full-time staff members and one half-time staff member. She said the alliance has received about $500,000 to $700,000 a year in state funding from electronic pull tabs since 2014. Stevenson's bill would direct a small portion of sports betting revenue to addiction, education and recovery efforts.
Rep. Dawn Gilman (R-Dassel) is a fan. “I love the idea of sports betting, I think so,” she said with a smile, but she wondered if it would hurt bingo operations across the state.
Treatment for compulsive gambling is free to Minnesota residents, and Minnesota is home to one of the few residential treatment programs in the nation with Project Turnabout's Vanguard program in Granite Falls.
Baker, whose district includes Project Turnabout, said he has seen friends receive treatment for gambling addiction there and said mobile sports betting has led to increased financial problems, family stress and domestic violence. He said he was confident that it would lead to.
If sports betting were legalized, advertising in the state would jump 10 times, he said. “My concern is young children having it in their classrooms,” he said. “We're bringing something really scary to our devices, and this is really the real philosophical challenge we have to address here.”
Baker said there's no need to legalize and make it more accessible just because it already is. “We're creating more addictive behaviors,” he says. “We need to talk about this the same way we talk to students about drug addiction, smoking, vaping, etc.”
Rep. Christine Berner, DFL Maple Grove, is a realist who recognizes that sports betting is likely to be legalized, but added, “What we're not talking about is making sports betting a permanent option.'' “It's about gambling becoming so widespread and so prevalent in public.” our children and our youth. ”
