Efforts to bring sports betting to Minnesota hit a snag.
Again.
The Senate State and Local Government Committee failed to pass two competing measures on Thursday, one of them by long-time sports betting opponent, Democrat John Marty.
He wants half of the money earned from sports betting to go to problem gambling treatment.
"If at some point, you decide you want to move forward on sports betting, I would argue we should do it with strong regulations," said Marty on the element that has little support. "Yes, it won't be as profitable as it could be, but it would be strong regulations to address the growth in problems with this."
Fellow Democrat Matt Klein made a proposal that had strong bi-partisan support.
"This bill has been before your committee before," Kline said. "This bill, for the first time enjoys the support of the previous combatants in this area, the 11 sovereign tribal nations, Canterbury Park, the Allied Charities, and the Minnesota professional sports teams."
Klein's bill received a 6-6 tie vote, meaning it won't be forwarded to the next committee.
Marty's bill was laid over, and could become part of a larger piece of legislation.