Is sports betting legal in Minnesota?

No. In Minnesota, sports betting is not legal (as of Oct 11, 2026). Operators pay 6% HANDLE in tax.

Channel	Status	Launched	Model	Details
Sports (online)	Not authorized			Same statutory basis as sports_retail; no mobile/online sports wagering statute exists. As of this research date no operator holds a Minnesota sports-wagering license and the 2026 legislative session closed without passing a bill.[1],[2],[3]
Sports (retail)	Not authorized			No statute authorizes licensed sports wagering. "Sports bookmaking" (accepting more than five sports bets totaling over $2,500 in 30 days) is a defined, prohibited activity under Minn. Stat. § 609.75; the Department of Revenue nonetheless imposes a 6% tax on the value of such (illegal) bets under § 297E.03. Sports-betting legalization bills have failed repeatedly: in 2022 the House favored a tribal-exclusive model while the Senate added racetracks, and the chambers could not reconcile; a 2023 bill (HF 2000) failed; in 2024 a horse-track revenue-sharing dispute led Gov. Walz to condition his signature on tribal support (a separate bill banning historical horse racing did pass that year); in 2025 a bill by Sen. Matt Klein failed 6-6 in a Senate committee vote in February while a competing bill from Sen. John Marty was laid over; a bipartisan Senate bill introduced in March 2026 again failed to advance, and the 2026 regular session adjourned May 18, 2026 without a sports-betting law, leaving the chief obstacles (tribal exclusivity vs. card-club/racetrack inclusion, and charitable-gaming concerns) unresolved.[1],[2],[4],[5]

Tax rate

Rate	Since	Notes
6% HANDLE (total)	Jan 1, 1994	Confirmed on audit (2026-10-10) directly against primary text via revisor.mn.gov: "An excise tax of six percent is imposed on the value of all bets received by, recorded by, accepted by, forwarded by, or placed with a person engaged in sports bookmaking" (subd. 1); "bet" and "sports bookmaking" are defined by cross-reference to Minn. Stat. § 609.75, subds. 2 and 7. The Revisor's history table shows this section was enacted new in 1994 (1994 c 633 art 2 s 3) and has not been amended since; effective_from corrected from the 2000 chapter-297E recodification guess to the 1994 enactment date.[2],[6]