The first state-licensed casino in Nebraska, WarHorse Lincoln, opened in October 2022. But in the year that followed, fears that casino gambling would lead to more crime have not materialized.
Regarding WarHorse, Police Captain Don Scheinost told the Lincoln Journal Star, “Every month, I get a printout of calls for service that we have down there and I’m amazed every month because it’s not what I expected. It’s lower than what I envisioned.”
Scheinost said police had been called to the casino 78 times, mainly for disturbances or trespassing, with few citations issued. “I expected more than 78 in a year, I guess,” he told the Journal Star, crediting casino staff and management who cooperate with police and “clearly are doing a very good job” managing guests.
“I don’t think the casino is causing us any undue heartache,” Scheinost added.
In the months before Nebraska voters overwhelmingly approved casino gambling in the state, opponents said casinos would cause “heartache” and much more. For example, in February 2020, Pat Loontjer, executive director of Gambling with the Good Life, said, “We have seen the devastation that comes with gambling: addiction, crime, divorce, embezzlements and even suicides.”
Soon after it opened, WarHorse Lincoln was involved in a series of fraudulent cash advances involving at least two Lincoln residents who allegedly used fake IDs to get cash advances at the casino, according to court filings.
Scheinost said as the casino expands, it’s possible that crime could increase, in particular human trafficking as casinos add hotels. On the same day the Nebraska Racing and Gaming Commission granted a gaming license to WarHorse Lincoln, it created a committee on human trafficking.
Casey Ricketts, director of compliance at the gaming commission, said, “We’re trying to take a very proactive approach here. We recognize that there can be issues that arise when casinos come. We’re not blind to that. And so, we want to do what we can do to help prevent anything.”
The commission holds monthly round tables, including casino operators, problem gaming advocates and experts and state, local and federal law enforcement officers in an effort to get ahead of potential trafficking, which has not arisen in Nebraska. In addition, Ricketts said the commission now requires casinos to train staff in helping to prevent potential trafficking, and has asked the casinos to post human trafficking awareness posters with a hotline phone number in bathrooms.
Gaming Commission Director Tom Sage told the Journal Star, “These issues are happening everywhere in this country, unfortunately, at truck stops and not just casinos. But I believe our casinos and our commission and local law enforcement are taking it serious and knowing it could be a problem at some point, hoping it’s not. But really, we want to be on top of it. And if we have one victim we can save, we all will be very happy.”
