Casino and video gambling are getting attention in Nebraska. Currently horseracing, keno, tribal casinos and the state lottery are the only forms of legal gambling. But the Winnebago Tribe of Nebraska is backing a petition drive to put casino gaming on the 2020 ballot. And following the passage of a bill legalizing video gaming machines, the Nebraska Department of Revenue must determine which machines offer legal games of skill or illegal games of chance.
Ho-Chunk, the economic development arm of the Winnebago Tribe, is financially supporting the ballot initiative to allow casinos. Ho-Chunk Chief Executive Officer Lance Morgan said, “Hundreds of millions of dollars go across the border every year. For a Nebraskan to do gaming, you have to go half a mile. It’s the height of paternalism to try to restrict it.” Casino gaming is allowed in Colorado, Iowa, Kansas, Missouri and South Dakota.
Besides offering casino gaming, Iowa recently legalized sports betting through its retail casinos and a statewide mobile sports wagering app. That means Nebraskans who want to wager on sports can register in person at any state-licensed Iowa sportsbook, download the sports betting app and just cross the state line whenever they want to place a bet.
Global Market Advisors Partner Brendan Bussmann, former director of football operations at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, said, “Iowa is going to continue to profit off Nebraska. Most of your Big 10 states are going to have sports betting within two years.”
One major obstacle to expanded gaming is Nebraska Governor Pete Ricketts, who said, “I’ve always been against expanded gambling here in Nebraska. In fact, that’s how I got involved in politics over a decade ago. And so I have no plans to change that.”
Pat Loontjer, executive director of the anti-gambling group Gambling with the Good Life, admitted attitudes have shifted regarding casino gambling in the state. “It’s going to be hard. We’ve been doing this for 24 years, and well, the atmosphere in the state has changed,” she said.
Video gaming also is in the spotlight in the Cornhusker State. The legislature passed LB 538, 44-0 in the last session, which clarifies that video gaming machines, so prevalent in Nebraska bars and convenience stores, are legal games of skill, not illegal video slot machines based on chance. The Department of Revenue will determine which specific machines actually meet the definition of a game of skill.
Former state Senator Loran Schmit said, “You will see a massive increase in those machines in Nebraska and tens of millions of dollars will be moved through those machines.” He added that rural senators “have no idea of the amount of revenue that those machines would generate,” and estimated eventual annual revenues of $200 million to $300 million.
