A 2020 report found that 56,000 Minnesota adults — or 1.3% — are problem gamblers, which means they’ve lost control. Another 162,000 adults, or nearly 3.8%, are “at risk.” Photo by Getty Images.
Lower credit scores, increased bankruptcies, more debt sent to collections, and more incidents of domestic violence tied to local team losses.
That’s what Minnesotans would be inviting if the Legislature legalizes sports betting, according to authors of recent studies on wagers, who appeared at a hearing of the Senate Finance committee Wednesday.
In 2018, a Supreme Court ruling repealed a law that had long banned sports betting nationwide, except in Nevada. Since then, 38 states and the District of Columbia have legalized the sports wagers, and a growing number of consumers are placing bets using mobile apps.
The researchers described a host of negative outcomes in states that have legalized sports betting in recent years.
In the seven legislative sessions since the Supreme Court effectively legalized the spread of sports betting, the Legislature has not repealed the state ban on the practice, despite bipartisan support for — and opposition to — legalization.
Sen. Matt Klein, DFL-Mendota Heights, who has carried bills to legalize sports betting in recent years, announced in a press release Tuesday that he would introduce another sports betting legalization bill when the legislative session begins next week.
Klein’s bill would create a Minnesota-based problem gambling hotline; prohibit advertisements targeting minors or problem gamblers; ban push notifications that promote wagering; require a three-hour waiting period between the time funds are deposited and when they can be used; and prohibit prop bets on college sports. (Prop bets are based on occurrences other than the final outcome of the game, such as an individual player’s performance, or even the outcome of a single play.)
Legal gambling advocates like Klein argue that sports betting will happen regardless of the law because gamblers will find ways to wager using offshore operations, but a legal, regulated regime would give Minnesotans more protections and help when they need it.
UCLA professor Brett Hollenbeck presented his analysis of credit scores, debt consolidation and collections data, bankruptcies, car loan delinquencies and more. Across nearly every metric, residents of states that legalized sports betting had worse outcomes than those in states that still prohibit sports gambling.
Using bank and credit card transaction data, Scott Baker of Northwestern University and his colleagues found that people who bet on sports are more likely to overdraw their accounts, have higher credit card balances and invest less than those who do not gamble on sports. That work takes the population-level findings of Hollenbeck’s study and confirms that on an individual level, sports betting leads to poor financial outcomes.
Sports betting legalization has also increased certain kinds of intimate partner violence, according to Emily Arnesen and Kyu Matsuzawa of the University of Oregon. Studies have long documented that domestic violence increases when a local sports team loses — particularly when the local team was expected to win. Arnesen and Matsuzawa estimated that sports betting legalization increased incidents of intimate partner violence by around 9%.
Sports betting opponents argue that the large companies operating sports books employ predatory tactics to ensnare gamblers and encourage heavy gamblers to keep making bets. For example, the major mobile sports books have “VIP” programs for users who spend a certain amount of money. Once a user reaches VIP status, they are assigned a “host” — a real person who messages with the user to encourage wagering and offer bonuses, incentives and prizes.
Matt Litt, a New Jersey-based attorney who specializes in litigation against sports books and gaming companies, said he spends many of his days reading text messages between gamblers and VIP hosts. Hosts send users trophies and offer all-expenses paid trips to users who spend a certain amount of money, he said.
“The addiction is crystal clear. And if I can see it, the VIP host certainly knows it,” Litt said, pointing out that many states require customer-facing employees of casinos and sports books to know the signs of problem gambling. “The number one sign you’re seeing through these messages with a VIP host is a gambler begging for money, saying, ‘I had a bad night last night, can you please help me?’”
by Madison McVan, Minnesota Reformer
January 8, 2025
by Madison McVan, Minnesota Reformer
January 8, 2025
Lower credit scores, increased bankruptcies, more debt sent to collections, and more incidents of domestic violence tied to local team losses.
That’s what Minnesotans would be inviting if the Legislature legalizes sports betting, according to authors of recent studies on wagers, who appeared at a hearing of the Senate Finance committee Wednesday.
In 2018, a Supreme Court ruling repealed a law that had long banned sports betting nationwide, except in Nevada. Since then, 38 states and the District of Columbia have legalized the sports wagers, and a growing number of consumers are placing bets using mobile apps.
The researchers described a host of negative outcomes in states that have legalized sports betting in recent years.
In the seven legislative sessions since the Supreme Court effectively legalized the spread of sports betting, the Legislature has not repealed the state ban on the practice, despite bipartisan support for — and opposition to — legalization.
Sen. Matt Klein, DFL-Mendota Heights, who has carried bills to legalize sports betting in recent years, announced in a press release Tuesday that he would introduce another sports betting legalization bill when the legislative session begins next week.
Klein’s bill would create a Minnesota-based problem gambling hotline; prohibit advertisements targeting minors or problem gamblers; ban push notifications that promote wagering; require a three-hour waiting period between the time funds are deposited and when they can be used; and prohibit prop bets on college sports. (Prop bets are based on occurrences other than the final outcome of the game, such as an individual player’s performance, or even the outcome of a single play.)
Legal gambling advocates like Klein argue that sports betting will happen regardless of the law because gamblers will find ways to wager using offshore operations, but a legal, regulated regime would give Minnesotans more protections and help when they need it.
UCLA professor Brett Hollenbeck presented his analysis of credit scores, debt consolidation and collections data, bankruptcies, car loan delinquencies and more. Across nearly every metric, residents of states that legalized sports betting had worse outcomes than those in states that still prohibit sports gambling.
Using bank and credit card transaction data, Scott Baker of Northwestern University and his colleagues found that people who bet on sports are more likely to overdraw their accounts, have higher credit card balances and invest less than those who do not gamble on sports. That work takes the population-level findings of Hollenbeck’s study and confirms that on an individual level, sports betting leads to poor financial outcomes.
Sports betting legalization has also increased certain kinds of intimate partner violence, according to Emily Arnesen and Kyu Matsuzawa of the University of Oregon. Studies have long documented that domestic violence increases when a local sports team loses — particularly when the local team was expected to win. Arnesen and Matsuzawa estimated that sports betting legalization increased incidents of intimate partner violence by around 9%.
Sports betting opponents argue that the large companies operating sports books employ predatory tactics to ensnare gamblers and encourage heavy gamblers to keep making bets. For example, the major mobile sports books have “VIP” programs for users who spend a certain amount of money. Once a user reaches VIP status, they are assigned a “host” — a real person who messages with the user to encourage wagering and offer bonuses, incentives and prizes.
Matt Litt, a New Jersey-based attorney who specializes in litigation against sports books and gaming companies, said he spends many of his days reading text messages between gamblers and VIP hosts. Hosts send users trophies and offer all-expenses paid trips to users who spend a certain amount of money, he said.
“The addiction is crystal clear. And if I can see it, the VIP host certainly knows it,” Litt said, pointing out that many states require customer-facing employees of casinos and sports books to know the signs of problem gambling. “The number one sign you’re seeing through these messages with a VIP host is a gambler begging for money, saying, ‘I had a bad night last night, can you please help me?’”
Minnesota Reformer is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Minnesota Reformer maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor J. Patrick Coolican for questions: info@minnesotareformer.com.
Our stories may be republished online or in print under Creative Commons license CC BY-NC-ND 4.0. We ask that you edit only for style or to shorten, provide proper attribution and link to our website. AP and Getty images may not be republished. Please see our republishing guidelines for use of any other photos and graphics.
Madison McVan is a Report for America corps member who covers economic mobility for Minnesota Reformer. She previously covered agriculture for Investigate Midwest after graduating from the University of Missouri in 2020 with degrees in Journalism and Latin American studies.
Minnesota Reformer is part of States Newsroom, the nation’s largest state-focused nonprofit news organization.
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The Minnesota Reformer is an independent, nonprofit news organization dedicated to keeping Minnesotans informed and unearthing stories other outlets can’t or won’t tell. We’re in the halls of government tracking what elected officials are up to — and monitoring the powerful forces trying to influence them. But we’re also on the streets, at the bars and parks, on farms and in warehouses, telling you stories of the people being affected by the actions of government and big business. And we’re free. No ads. No paywall.
We’re part of States Newsroom, the nation’s largest state-focused nonprofit news organization.
Our stories may be republished online or in print under Creative Commons license CC BY-NC-ND 4.0. We ask that you edit only for style or to shorten, provide proper attribution and link to our website. (See full republishing guidelines.)
© Minnesota Reformer, 2025
