AG Ellison tells 14 online gambling platforms to cease operations in Minnesota

Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison is threatening legal action against more than a dozen gambling websites that he says violate Minnesota law.

In June, the Alcohol and Gambling Enforcement Division of the Minnesota Department of Public Safety sent letters to 14 websites, listed below, that either allow users to use virtual coins to play casino games or offer sports betting, poker and other gambling and directed them to stop offering their services to Minnesotans.

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After none of the websites took action to remove access in Minnesota, Ellison’s office followed up with a second round of letters this week informing them they are violating state consumer protection laws.

“Online platforms offering sportsbooks and casino games run by out-of-state and overseas operators may make it look as though online gambling is legal and safe in Minnesota, but let me be clear: it is not,” Ellison said in a statement. “Trying to rebrand poker chips as virtual currencies does not change the fact that these online gambling operations are unlawful. By continuing to operate online gambling sites in Minnesota, these operators are likely openly defying our State’s laws and I will not stand for it.”

Ellison also raised concerns about the unregulated environment of these websites, which often lack age verification mechanisms or accountability measures to ensure winnings are paid out.

The Attorney General’s Office gave the 14 websites a Dec. 1 deadline to comply or face lawsuits that could result in fines of up to $25,000 per violation. Those 14 sites are:

VG LuckyLand

Zula Casino

Fortune Coins

BetAnySports

BetUs

XBet

BetNow

BetWhale

EveryGame Sportsbook

BetOnline

Slotsandcasino

Bovada

MyBookie.com

Sportsbetting.com

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In Minnesota, legal gambling is limited to tribal casinos, horse betting, pull tabs and the lottery. A 2018 U.S. Supreme Court decision cleared the way for states to legalize online sports betting, but bills to allow the practice in Minnesota have so far faltered in the Legislature.

Separate action on predictions markets

Ellison’s letters announced on Wednesday notably did not include any platforms in the emerging online prediction market industry, but a spokesperson for the attorney general said his office has is working with other states to regulate these websites.

Prediction markets such as Kalshi and Polymarket claim to differ from sportsbooks because they facilitate the exchange of event contracts between individuals on the futures marketplace.

In practice, these sites allow people to place money on whether a certain outcome will occur in an elections or sporting events — something critics say is indistinguishable from gambling.

Earlier this year, New Jersey sued to stop Kalshi from operating in the state, but a federal judge sided with Kalshi, saying federal regulations on event contracts preempted state gambling laws.

New Jersey appealed the ruling, and in June, Ellison and attorneys general from 35 other states and territories signed an amicus brief urging the Third District Court of Appeals to classify Kalshi as an online gambling platform subject to state laws.

“Perhaps most importantly, from the consumer’s perspective, it is immaterial whether Kalshi is acting as the ‘House’ that sets the line and takes a vig, or as an exchange, which facilitates the contract and takes atransaction fee,” the filing states. “Kalshi has even told the public that they can ‘bet’ using its platform.”

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