It’s no secret that casinos bring in a lot of money. That’s why plans for a new Vikings stadium rely on new revenue from expanding gambling. As MPR’s Tim Nelson explains, though, gambling would be a new and somewhat speculative revenue source, and bond underwriters are nervous about it:

…new gambling proceeds, be they from a racino, a downtown Minneapolis casino or new pull-tabs… are not a known or guaranteed revenue source because they’d be brand new….

That may require “credit enhancement” from the state to make the bonds affordable, which is to say, a pledge that taxpayers will co-sign the stadium mortgage, even if gambling pays the bills.

…So-called appropriation bonds are one solution. They’d have the Legislature paying the debt service with 30 years of appropriations, backfilled by the gambling proceeds flowing into state coffers.

In all honesty, it’s unlikely that there would ever be a problem. As I said, gambling brings in a lot of money. Nevertheless, it’s important not to forget that even if we use a scheme like new gambling revenue to finance the stadium, we the taxpayers are ultimately on the hook.