Minnesota Sports Betting Gets Messy
Minnesota's attempt to legalize sports betting is now intertwined in a larger fight between tribal and commercial gaming operators.
The Bulletin Board
NEWS: Minnesota sports betting runs into a roadblock as stakeholders fight over HHR and Class III games.
BEYOND the HEADLINE: A right and wrong way to legalize sports betting.
LEGISLATIVE UPDATES: Alabama gambling package goes to conference committee, and a CT bill seeks to legalize in-state college team bets.
QUICK HITTER: The curious case of online poker in Arkansas could expand to online casinos.
NEWS: Underdog and PrizePicks return to Florida with P2P offerings.
AROUND the WATERCOOLER: Mainstream sites ditching AI content.
STRAY THOUGHTS: Be the best version of you.
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Navigating the Quagmire in Minnesota
A highly restrictive sports betting bill has become entangled with messy fights over historical horse racing at racetracks and “unauthorized” Class III gaming at tribal casinos in Minnesota.
With sports betting already facing an uphill battle, the situation in Minnesota has turned from bad to worse as preexisting disputes between racetracks and the state’s tribal casinos have bubbled over.
After regulators authorized historical horse racing machines at the state’s two commercial racetracks, Rep. Zach Stephenson filed a bill, HF 5724, that would make them illegal. Stephenson argues that the Minnesota Racing Commission overstepped its bounds when it authorized the machines, as the legislature creates laws.
According to reporting by CasinoReports.com, Stephenson said, “The racing commission doesn’t decide what forms of gambling are allowed; he and his colleagues in elected office do. I believe that it is the legislature’s role to determine what gambling is permissible.”
HF 5724 passed the House State and Local Government Finance and Policy Committee by a narrow 7-5 vote on Thursday.
In what appears to be a response to the HHR bill, one of the state’s racetracks, Running Aces, has filed a lawsuit that alleges three tribal casinos are or were offering unauthorized Class III games.
According to CasinoReports.com, the lawsuit alleges the tribes “have vigorously tried to block Running Aces’ efforts to lawfully expand its gaming operations,” and by expanding their own offerings, “have been able to attract many patrons who would otherwise have played card games at Running Aces, thereby depriving Running Aces of substantial revenue and profits — both from lost card gaming and from lost accompanying spending on food, lodging, and live entertainment.”
Beyond the Headline: GDC Founder Pushes Back on In-Play Restrictions
In a commentary published by the Minnesota Star-Tribune, Gambling.com cofounder Charles Gillespie was critical of the changes to the state’s sports betting bill, wondering aloud why the state was trying to reinvent the wheel.
“The most illogical of these proposals is the amendment to prohibit real-time betting, which would limit all wagering to before the event itself begins,” Gillespie wrote. “Today’s modern sports betting industry has moved on from simple pre-event wagers, and now a majority of wagering action takes place during the event itself.”
Gillespie went on to say:
“If Minnesota were to restrict betting to before the event, it would be the first state in the country to do so, and it would hinder the legal market tremendously. This means less tax revenue for the state and more people gravitating to the unregulated offshore sports betting websites that have been operating with impunity for decades. These offshore sports betting operators would no doubt welcome the windfall resulting from being the only outlets able to offer the level of choice and quality of experience that modern technology affords.”
Hindering the legal market is becoming a go-to argument for supporters of legal, regulated markets. However, whether it’s high tax rates or restricted markets, these arguments don’t seem to resonate.
SportsHandle’s Jeff Edelstein recently made this argument regarding the legal market’s role in sniffing out suspicious betting. Basically, people don’t want to sit through Munk Debates with the possibility they might narrowly change their minds on a topic.
Legislative Updates: AL Goes to Conference Committee; CT Considers Amending Sports Betting Law
Alabama Conference Committee meets this week: Alabama has formed a six-member conference committee to try to find some middle ground between the gambling expansion packages passed by the House and Senate. The Senate version authorizes tribal compacts and a state lottery, while the House version goes further with commercial casinos and sports betting added. Greg Albritton, Garlan Gudger, and Bobby Singleton will represent the Senate. The House has appointed Chris Blackshear, Andy Whitt, and Sam Jones. The group is expected to hold a public meeting sometime this week.
Connecticut giveth and taketh: A new bill in Connecticut would authorize betting on in-state colleges (currently prohibited) but keeps a ban on proposition betting in place. The bill would also tighten advertising policy. On the latter front, the changes would put CT on par with neighboring Massachusetts, as it bans celebrities, adds 21+ language to advertisements, and requires the majority of viewers or participants to be 21+ in traditional and online advertising.
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Quick Hitter: Arkansas Enters the Online Casino Chat
Arkansas is the latest locale to enter the online gambling conversation.
According to reporting by Gambling.com’s Larry Henry, “On March 13, Carlton Saffa, CMO at Saracen Casino Resort in Pine Bluff, wrote to Arkansas Racing Commission Chairman Alex Lieblong asking for a change in the rules to allow internet casino gambling.”
Arkansas is an interesting case. Online poker was sneakily authorized alongside sports betting, but the state is often left off legal lists because the rule requires regulatory authorization, which hasn’t happened yet. I used to count Arkansas as legal (with an asterisk) but have stopped as the state has made zero effort to act on the rule.
As I wrote heading into 2023:
“There is an eighth state that has sort of legalized online poker, or at the very least, has the mechanisms in place to approve online poker if it so desires. That state is Arkansas.
“When Arkansas legalized sports betting, it included interesting language in Rule 5 about interactive poker (beginning on page 77):
“6. “Inter-operator poker network” means a pool of authorized players from two or more operators collected together to play the game of poker on one interactive gaming system.
“The question is, will Arkansas authorize online poker? Just because it can, doesn’t mean it will. However, its chances will only improve with every new state in the MSIGA.”
As Saffa told GDC, he believes regulators can also authorize online casino games by expanding the language of 006-06-19 Ark. Code R. § 5 to include internet casino games in addition to online poker.
“A solution exists by amending ARC Rule 5, which already authorizes online poker, to include other types of table games and slots,” Saffa told GDC.
Underdog and PrizePicks Relaunch Pick’ Em Games in FL
Florida regulators sent cease-and-desist letters in September 2023 to several companies offering DFS Pick’ Em games in the state. The companies received a second letter in February.
After communicating with regulators, the three operators, Underdog (a newsletter sponsor), PrizePicks, and Betr, complied with the Florida Gaming Control Commission’s request and ceased offering the contests but continued to offer peer-to-peer games.
Now, PrizePicks and Underdog have expanded their offerings in the Sunshine State with new peer-to-peer versions of their Pick’ Em games.
Underdog launched its Pick’Em Championship game, where players “build teams of athletes and predict how they’ll perform against statistical benchmarks. Players will then have their teams entered into a tournament where they’ll face off against other teams. Winners will share in a prize.”
PrizePicks launched PrizePicks Arena, where “users compete for guaranteed prizes by being placed into groups matching their number of entries, selected entry fee, and experience level on the PrizePicks platform. The game offers users unique opportunities to win prizes for their entries by creating the highest-scoring entry within their group.”
The legality of DFS in Florida has been a lingering question. With the FGCC sending the cease-and-desist letters to the three companies offering player vs. the house versions and not FanDuel, DraftKings, and other peer-to-peer operators and by allowing Underdog, PrizePicks, and Betr to continue to offer P2P games, the issue is vs. the house fantasy contests.
An Underdog spokesperson told STTP:
“Florida's gaming structure and compact are completely unique, though the state has made it clear peer-to-peer fantasy sports are permissible by expressly allowing FanDuel, DraftKings, Yahoo, and others to offer their fantasy games. So in addition to our draft contests, we are now also offering our strictly peer-to-peer fantasy contest, Champions, to the millions of fans in the state. We've worked with Florida regulators, and when they previously asked us to stop offering a product, we did, and we are now following the new blueprint state officials have established.”
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Around the Watercooler
Social media conversations, rumors, and gossip.
I’ve been monitoring AI use in content (here and here).
The following LinkedIn post (this is not an endorsement of Dima’s content company, as I’m unfamiliar with its work) indicates that mainstream sites are rethinking AI content.
The use of AI by gambling affiliates is the subject of an upcoming feature column.
Stray Thoughts
I’ve heard Joe Rogan say some version of this many times about the discipline and work ethic he gained from martial arts:
“In martial arts, you can get as good as the effort you put forth. There’s a path… and most people don’t want to do it.”
I find this to be the case in most pursuits, and what I like about the way Rogan puts it is the unsaid reality that everyone’s good is different. Not everyone has the physical skill set to be a UFC fighter, but some people with the physical skill set don’t have the work ethic. The best of the best have both.
This is something I try to hammer home to kids at my martial arts school: just be the best version of you. Little steps forward every day.