Minnesota: Why legalizing sports betting (still) faces such long odds at the Legislature this year By Peter Callaghan, MinnPost March 8, 2019 at 2:30 pm Legal sports betting may be coming to Minnesota. But it doesn’t seem to be in much of a hurry. Consider that the Senate bill that would partially legalize sports books in Minnesota narrowly slipped out of its first committee Thursday (and faces an uncertain response at its next stop). The majority leader of the Senate isn’t keen on the idea. The state’s 11 Native American tribes are opposed. Anti-gambling and several religious organizations are opposed. And, oh yeah, it doesn’t raise much money. There’s also this: the House bill on the same topic hasn’t been set for a hearing, lacks support from DFL leadership, and faces many of the same liabilities as the Senate bill.