Minnesota Online Sports Betting

Minnesota host a range of gaming choices for its residents and visitors with Daily Fantasy Sports (DFS), horse racing, a great choice of quality tribal casinos and one of the first-ever introduced online lotteries in the nation.

Sports betting is a hotly-debated topic with Minnesota lawmakers with the hopes of creating a system similar to what exsists in all the legal sports betting states.

After a strong push in 2022 to legalize sports betting fell short, there is a lot of optimism that a deal can be reached to legalize wagering in 2023.

Latest Update:

Minnesota sports betting bill scaled through a house committee. The bill is the second consecutive legislative instrument introduced by Rep. Stephenson in the last two years.

Affectionately known as the ‘Land of 10 000 lakes’, the state of Minnesota offers the gambling aficionados a wide of legal options; DFS, online horse racing, casinos, live horse racing, live poker, a great state lottery and charitable gambling.

Minnesota has a 7.25% state tax on gambling winnings.

Large gambling wins over $600 in the state of Minnesota may possibly attract an additional Federal Tax.

Contact your tax attorney to assess your potential Federal tax liability if you have a big win in Minnesota.

Minnesota’s minimum legal gambling ages offer a flexible range of 18 to 21 year-of-age for casino gambling (18 for those casinos that don’t serve alcohol, and 21 for those casinos that do offer alcoholic beverages) and an 18 years-of-age minimum for DFS, horse racing, the state lottery and charitable gaming.

Betting on sports is not yet a reality in Minnesota, but there is hope that a deal can be struck in 2023. A bill to legalize sports gambling was nearly over the finish line during the 2022 legislative session, but a late amendment in the state Senate delayed the prospects for another year. The biggest issue the state needs to contend with is the tribal request for exclusivity in sports betting. 

As it stands, the 11 Native American tribes that operate the 19 casinos in the state want to be the sole providers of sports betting in the state. However, the Senate added a provision that would also grant licenses to the state’s two horse racing tracks, killing the progress for 2022.

Sports Betting Online is currently illegal in the state of Minnesota for the reasons stated above. Meanwhile, online DFS and horse and greyhound racing online betting options are all fully legal for residents and visitors in Minnesota until the legislators give them an opportunity to place a legal wager on the Vikings or Twins.

The Federal Government’s understanding is that Daily Fantasy Sports (DFS) competitions are skills-based games, not games of chance and therefore, they are not considered to be gambling. Each state has been encouraged to declare their own position on the legality of DFS competitions.

Minnesota’s State Legislators has never gotten around to formally legalizing DFS. It seems that the topic is not given the utmost importance as DFS competitions have operated openly in Minnesota for many years. DFS sites exist and operate in a legal grey area in Minnesota but no-one expects the games to be shut down. Lawmakers’ objections to formally legalizing DFS in Minnesota have more to do with disagreeing on licensing fees and taxes, than they do with any objection to the practice.

Meanwhile, all major DFS sites accept players from Minnesota.

When sports betting arrives in Minnesota as a fully legal wagering option, eSports betting will bring a new pristine and disruptive ‘family-friendly’ form of sports betting to a new breed of gamblers looking for options unblemished by the ‘illegal’ historic tag.

What are eSports?

Professional video game competitions are a big thing these days. They’re called ‘eSports’ and they are a big deal that has developed from the days of the underground gaming community to become a mainstream sport, now growing at an unprecedented rate. Players from around the world compete for professional teams in tournaments offering prize pools worth up to millions of dollars. Many of these competitions attract huge global audiences. Tens of thousands of people attend eSports events in packed stadiums, and millions more watch online.

The interest in esports is increasing daily. Yes, there are those wanting to watch and play the games; however, big bettors want to place wagers and win big on the professional video game contests. Many international sportsbooks offer betting markets on the major competitive global eSports tournaments, and eSports betting is growing exponentially at a rate directly correlated to developments in live video streaming technology.

StarCraft, CS:GO, Overwatch and Fortnite, are just some of the most popular games, and the big pro teams compete for glory as gamblers worldwide (including soon in Minnesota with the co-operation of the state’s lawmakers) cash in on the action.

Horse tacing in Minnesota provides a number of betting opportunities for aficionados of ‘sport of kings’ with possibilities to place wagers on thoroughbred racing, quarter horses and harness racing. All forms of horse racing in the state are administered by the Minnesota Racing Commission and legislated through Chapter 240 of the Minnesota State Statutes.

Trackside

Minnesota has one thoroughbred racing track and one harness racing track where race meetings are held throughout the year. Race days are also held throughout the state under license at county fairs (usually in summer only).

Off Track Betting (OTB) in Minnesota

OTB’s are banned in the state of Minnesota to protect the trackside betting industry. However, online betting is available for the state’s residents.

Online Horse Racing in Minnesota

Horse/greyhound betting can be legally offered online to Minnesotans. The only restriction is that online betting is not available at races held in Minnesota. Accordingly, residents of Minnesota over the age of 18 have 100% legal access to online horse betting sites offering betting options on all the popular races throughout the United States (other than Minnesota) and major worldwide race meetings.

Visit our page on Minnesota’s Gambling Laws for more information on the states laws