The pro-gambling group Keep the Money in Nebraska announced it has gathered 475,000 signatures for three petitions that would allow casino gambling at horseracing tracks.
The group said it plans to submit the petitions to the Nebraska secretary of state’s office, which will validate signatures and announce in mid-August which of the petition drives will appear on the November ballot.
One petition seeks to amend the state constitution to allow gambling; another would change state law to authorize and regulate the casinos; and the third would direct gambling tax revenue to a property tax credit fund and to local governments. Keep the Money in Nebraska officials said the constitutional amendment proposal had more than 205,000 signatures; the two other each received more than 135,000.
The campaign is backed by Ho-Chunk Inc., the economic development arm of the Winnebago Tribe of Nebraska, and the Nebraska Horsemen’s Benevolent and Protective Association, a horse-racing advocacy group.
The initiatives would define a few parameters; for example, casino gambling would be limited to the state’s six racetracks. And 75 percent of the tax revenue would go to offset property taxes. A ratification of an amendment could give the state government authorization to approve sportsbooks as well as casinos, despite the fact none of the pro gambling proposals includes sports betting.
The rest of the regulatory framework would be decided by the legislature and Governor Pete Ricketts, who opposes expansion of legal gambling and could veto any regulatory bills.
A similar proposal in 2004 went down to defeat.
Bob Moser, president of the Nebraska Horsemen’s Benevolent and Protective Association, said the state loses hundreds of millions of dollars a year to Iowa casinos along the Nebraska border. “It’s time to stop looking foolish and keep the money in Nebraska,” Moser said.
