Minnesota’s proposed ban on sweepstakes casinos has hit a roadblock, with SB 4474 – and its companion bill HB 4410 – failing to record the committee action needed to progress ahead of a March 27 deadline.
As we reported last week, both bills had been heard in their first committees: SF 4474 cleared one committee and was referred to a second, while HB 4410 still hasn’t moved.
And Minnesota’s legislative rules require bills to pass all assigned committees in their originating chamber by the deadline to remain eligible for a full floor vote. With Friday now behind us and no recorded progress in a second committee for either bill, the whole proposal seems to have stalled for the current session.
It doesn’t entirely close the door as lawmakers can sometimes pull bills back or find other ways to revive them later, but it’s a major setback for supporters of a state sweepstakes ban, and a win for sweepstakes casino operators and players in the North Star State.
Minnesota has been one of several places taking a close look at sweepstakes-style casino platforms – those which operate using dual-currency systems with Gold Coins (GC) and Sweepstakes Coins (SC), the latter redeemable for real cash prizes.
As things stand, the vast majority of operators don’t list Minnesota as a restricted state in their T&Cs, and it seems that situation is now unlikely to be impacted by any actions in the MN legislature before the session fully wraps up on May 18. This means sweeps casino operators here can continue business as usual for now.
Author: Jon Ridehalgh
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