Letter in Support of S.F. 4474 Concerning Online Sweepstakes Casinos

Letter in Support of S.F. 4474 (Rasmusson) Concerning Online Sweepstakes Casinos

Senate Floor

April 30, 2026

Dear Senator:

The Minnesota Catholic Conference, the public policy voice of the Catholic Church in Minnesota, writes in support of S.F. 4474 (Rasmusson), which would ban the growing phenomenon of online sweepstakes casino-style gambling. Minnesota does not allow online gambling, and casino-style games are limited to tribal reservations. The law should clarify that this activity, estimated already to be a $4.6 billion dollar industry nationwide, is not permitted in Minnesota. Please vote yes.

We oppose gambling expansion beyond its current limits. Apart from the state lottery, gambling in Minnesota is generally limited to in-person social settings such as tribal casinos, horse tracks, bingo halls, and pull-tabs at bars. There are built-in safeguards in social settings because others around you can intervene on your behalf if needed, and eventually you must go home. 

Limiting gambling to in-person social settings produces the type of friction needed to prevent people from having an addictive activity at their fingertips and without accountability. In contrast, online sweepstakes fuel greater gambling addiction by their design. Sometimes this is by luring consumers in with “free entry” only to offer them the chance to pay later for other games or contests, which can be very difficult to resist due to the predatory tactics many online gambling sites in general use.

This kind of gambling can function like a “gateway drug,” leading consumers to ramp up their gambling. It compels participants to keep entering and any win, with its accompanying rush of dopamine, only increases this compulsion. In addition, the use of “dual currency” and its substitution of money for coins or other tokens can detach consumers from how much they are truly spending on a game. This is especially true when more tokens can be bought with a few taps or even a quick facial scan as opposed to having to walk to a cashier and hand over cash in a physical casino, again bringing in the problem of increased accessibility.

Although it can be, for some, occasional entertainment, for many gambling is harmful and addictive, and destroys families and finances. It produces almost no social benefit, and the taxpayer picks up the costs for the harm it creates.

Notably, many groups that hold diverse opinions on other gambling issues are united in opposition to online sweepstakes casinos, including Canterbury Park, Minnesota Indian Gaming Association, Citizens Against Gambling Expansion, Electronic Gaming Group of Minnesota, Minnesota Alliance on Problem Gambling, Joint Religious Legislative Coalition, Allied Charities, Veterans of Foreign Wars, Allied Charities, and the American Legion. We all agree that the time to act is now.

Thank you for your consideration.

Jason Adkins

Executive Director

[email protected]

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