Minnesota 1 Of 30 States Trying To Legalize Sports Betting

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MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- Minnesota lawmakers are making a move to legalize sports betting.

A bill allowing Minnesotans to make bets on games will be introduced Wednesday.

This year, for the first time, football fans bet legally on the Super Bowl in states other than Nevada. So far, sports betting is legal in Nevada, New Mexico, Mississippi, West Virginia, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Rhode Island and New Jersey.

(credit: CBS)

Minnesota is now one of 30 other states trying to legalize it. If this bill passes, Minnesotans could bet on the outcome of professional games like the Minnesota Vikings or Wild. Or college teams, like the University of Minnesota Gophers. You could even wager on the flip of a coin, or the over-under on points scored.

One of the bill sponsors says other states around Minnesota are already moving ahead with betting parlors.

"God help us if on a Vikings-Packers game we have to go into Wisconsin to bet on the game. That would be crazy! So we need to act responsibly, but quickly," said Rep. Nick Zerwas, (R) Elk River.

This is all possible because last year the United States Supreme Court struck down a decades-old law making sports betting illegal everywhere except in Nevada.