As a growing number of states like Connecticut continue to promote legalized sports wagering by the week, Minnesota’s initiative to introduce regulated sports betting faced a substantial dilemma Tuesday.
The Gopher State’s sports betting fans and the Minnesota Indian Gaming Association– an 11-member collection of Minnesota people that operate 19 gambling enterprises—are now at odds over one crucial element of discussing statewide sports betting: permitting off-reservation gaming (through mobile phones and also computer systems).
Acknowledging the right for players to place bets from their mobile phones and away from reservation-based gambling establishments would mean less cash for the gambling enterprise operators.
Nevertheless, the executive director of the Minnesota Indian Gaming Association, John McCarthy, did mention that restricting sports bets to exclusively being placed at gambling facilities was not a long lasting solution.
Going Online For More Profits
Taking into consideration the online gambling world is a key element in this industry. The state would be making a good move by accepting wagers online as players would be able to place bets from their smartphones. By doing so, they would have the opportunity to compete with online casinos and sportsbooks such as Bovada, MyBookie and BetOnline. Not only that, but the profits would increase tremendously for the state.
Just think about it! We are living in a era where our smartphones are a big part of our lives. Minnesota is an extremely cold state, weather wise, so the average sports bettor does not really want get out of their way to go to place a wager at a kiosk in 0 degree temperature. Through their smartphone, players would be able to bet from anywhere at anytime. So it’s pretty clear how the state would increase profits by going online. Of course, there is also the trust factor to take into consideration when going with a local sportsbook, which is a big plus for a player.
This debate has actually caught the interest of Minnesota Governor Tim Walz, who has kept in mind that the topic of legalized sports gambling has been worthy of further study instead of prompt action in 2019.
With that said, it doesn’t appear as though Minnesotans will be participating in legalized sports betting till this one essential problem over off-reservation gaming is solved. Although, it does seem that a potential resolution around the region can be the stimulant for triggering major legal action in the following stage.
In light of this, 8 states have legislated sports betting, with New york city and Massachusetts coming to be the most recent 2 states to file bills planning to control and legalize in the near future.