Minnesota's Unique Approach to Gambling
The news that neighboring Wisconsin just approved mobile sports betting in April 2026 has set Minnesota even further apart from most Midwestern states.
Illinois is a national powerhouse in annual sports betting revenue; and Iowa, Indiana, and Ohio also have embraced a significant expansion of legal, regulated gambling in recent years.
But in Minnesota, there is no legal sports betting, and casino activity is limited to the 19 casinos operated by the state's 11 sovereign tribes - with only very minimal dollars transferred to the Minnesota state budget.
There are only 10 other states that do not offer some form of sports betting, including western states California, Idaho, Utah, Alaska, and Hawaii. Minnesota is the outlier in the Midwest, with all of the other sports betting-resistant states located hundreds of miles away.
There have been efforts in recent years to bring Minnesota aboard an industry that has exploded since a landmark May 2018 ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court that voided the longstanding sports betting virtual monopoly enjoyed by Nevada.
But while details such as whether to allow mobile sports betting as part of the package and how to divide up the revenue have led to the stalling of several bills in committee, the national pushback against ubiquitous sports betting advertising - along with reports of a growing number of compulsive gamblers across the U.S. - may only increase a bipartisan reluctance in the Minnesota statehouse against legalization.
Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine said in late 2025 that his biggest "regret" during his term in office was signing a sports betting bill into law. Fellow Republican state elected officials there are now weighing measures to greatly limit the availability of sports wagering to residents and visitors - perhaps even eliminating mobile sports betting altogether.
Tribal casinos thriving in Minnesota
The 19 casinos are estimated to feature a combined 20,000 slot machines and nearly 300 table games, with Mystic Lake Casino Hotel operating as the largest such facility in the state and including more than 750 hotel rooms.
Treasure Island Resort & Casino, also located in the heavily-populated greater Minneapolis/St. Paul region, features a large water park and 16,000-seat outdoor amphitheater that draws major entertainment acts outside of the snowy winter months.
Casinos in northern Minnesota draw fewer tourists but serve as a leading attraction for its local residents. Total tribal gaming revenue is estimated at around $2 billion annually.
Expansion of hotel room space and the addition of new entertainment offerings have consistently occurred in the more than three decades since Minnesota became an early adapter nationally in authorizing tribal casinos.
There are no commercial casinos in Minnesota, and no legislative momentum for that to change.
Pull-tab games are prevalent in Minnesota
In spite of Minnesotan's overall cultural concerns about the proliferation of gambling, the state is a national leader in a low-level form of risk-taking called "pull-tab games."
For anywhere from 25 cents to $5, a player buys a paper ticket - or an electronic parallel version - that includes symbols hidden behind the tabs. Opening the tabs quickly reveals whether the gambler has won a prize that only very occasionally ranges up to more than $1,000.
The Midwest is the unofficial "capital" of the gambling, and the dearth of legal gambling alternatives no doubt has contributed to the level of interest in the tickets by Minnesotans.
Paper pull-tabs have been legal in the state for more than 40 years, and the legislature approved the electronic version in 2012 to help pay off the state bonds on the NFL Minnesota Vikings stadium.
Technological developments that make playing the electronic games ever more seamless – and quick - have amplified the objection by Minnesota's tribes to the games as a potential drain on casino revenues. Supporters counter that the considerable annual revenue mainly is directed toward funding local charities.
By 2025, a court decision and subsequent legislation have led to restrictions on the operation of electronic pull-tab games, which until then had become increasingly similar in play to traditional casino slot machines.
Bars, taverns, and veteran's organizations are among the many locations featuring residents gathering together to try their hand at the low-level gambling of pull-tabs.
