Editorial counterpoint: Arguments for legalized sports betting fail

Opinion editor’s note: Star Tribune Opinion publishes a mix of national and local commentaries online and in print each day. To contribute, click here.

•••

While I was a member of the Minnesota House, I heard Republicans as well as Democrats argue in favor of legalizing sports betting in Minnesota. I found it a troubling appeal. The Star Tribune Editorial Board’s March 29 argument (“Legalize sports betting in Minnesota”) was similarly unconvincing.

Any bill that raises revenue to pay for the rehabilitation of those who use its provisions to act irresponsibly, cause personal and public injury, and has significant unanticipated costs seems problematic.

The bill’s main sponsor, Rep. Zack Stephenson, DFL-Coon Rapids, is a hardworking and passionate advocate. Our caucus heard about his travel and visits with tribal leaders across the state, about the bill’s protection of tribal gaming, about its attention to habitual and destructive behavior, about regulating a potentially exploitive industry, and about constructive use of revenue. I’m not convinced that state regulation is going to discourage irresponsible behavior when expanded accessibility and aggressive marketing will be its partners. A study of the impact of gambling addiction shows its pervasive burdens and negative impact.

Maybe the most insidious element of this expanding industry is its effect on athletes, their coaches, their teams, their families and their teammates — not just from potential exploitation, but from the psychological and personal doubt, fear, suspicion and participation that has already become evident.

The last five years of the sports betting industry have been deeply troubling. Professional athletics used to be attentive to the threat of gambling. Now Las Vegas has become the home of professional teams and the venue for national tournaments. Professional leagues have entered into contractual agreements with betting platforms. Some colleges and universities now have lucrative partnerships with the industry. It takes no imagination to recognize high school athletics — every element of the pastime — as a future market for sports gambling.

The mantra that “all of our neighbors have legalized sports betting” has no more authority than a child’s appeal that “all of the other kids are doing it.” I know advocates of a more liberal approach to gambling point to the failed efforts at prohibition of alcohol. There are similarities. There are lots of people who use alcohol responsibly and without causing problems to their health or home life; that prohibition encouraged more serious crime. Unfortunately, the industry is also responsible for broad and serious social problems caused by individual irresponsibility and addiction — often damaging to others, causing significant public expense, remains vulnerable to illegal activity, and is now prohibited from the kind of ubiquitous advertising currently common to sports betting.

I’d hope our legislative leaders would pull the bill from consideration, take time to study the way the industry affects those who participate in organized athletics and those who just enjoy the excitement and pleasures of the pastime. A dispassionate discussion would, I’d bet, change some people’s minds — maybe yours, too.

Steve Sandell, of Woodbury, is a retired teacher. He was a DFL member of the Minnesota House from 2019 to 2022.