The Nebraska State Supreme Court recently ruled 4-3 that three ballot initiatives to legalize and regulate casino gambling at state horseracing tracks will remain on the ballot.
Nebraska Secretary of State Robert Evnen earlier tried to block the gambling measure, claiming the ballot initiatives did not stick to a single issue and had language irregularities. The court’s decision reverses Evnen’s ruling, allowing them to appear on the November 3 ballot.
If approved, the initiatives would amend the state constitution to legalize casino gambling at horse racetracks, bringing in an estimated $65 million annually in taxes to help offset property taxes and provide problem gambling services. The racinos also would create 4,600 jobs, generate $320 million of the gross state product and direct $40.5 million to state and local governments. Racetracks in Omaha, Lincoln, South Sioux City, Columbus, Hastings and Grand Island would be eligible to become racinos.
Earlier this summer, Keep the Money in Nebraska, the Nebraska Horsemen’s Benevolent & Protective Association, the Winnebago Tribe’s Ho-Chunk Inc. and Omaha Exposition and Racing submitted the three ballot initiatives with more than 475,000 signatures. However, Evnen, on August 25, ruled that all of them violated state laws that say ballot measures must stick to a single topic and that their language must be clear to voters.
The groups immediately appealed Evnen’s decision to the Supreme Court, where Judge Lindsey Miller-Lerman wrote, “We conclude that neither the Constitutional Initiative, nor the Regulatory Initiative, nor the Tax Initiative violates the single subject rule.”
A similar petition drive in 2016 gathered too few signatures and also faced the same legal questions as this latest effort. Ho Chunk Chief Executive Officer Lance Morgan said, “Every state who touches Nebraska has some form of casino gambling, and so every state considers Nebraska a target demographic for their business. If we can just keep some of that money home, some of those taxes home and some of those jobs and economic activity here, we’re going to improve.”
Morgan added, “Since the Council Bluffs casinos have opened, they’ve brought in $11 billion in revenue—billion—and about $9 billion of that has come right from Nebraska. To be honest, that makes me a little bit angry. I think that it’s obvious to everybody involved that they’re there to exploit Nebraska, to take money from Nebraska, to take jobs from Nebraska. And so I think it’s crystal clear that if you could move those gaming operations into Nebraska, we would get the tax dollars, we would get the jobs, and we would get the economic activities.”
Morgan noted the effort to place casino gambling on the ballot has been ongoing for nearly two years. “And so to take it down to the wire it feels great to actually get it on the ballot. We have a lot of work to do, but it feels great at this stage. We’re going to spend a lot of time marketing and really pushing forward some of the data that we have that support this initiative,” he said. Ho-Chunk Inc. owns Atokad Horse Park in South Sioux City, where casino games would be allowed if voters approve the initiative.
Andre Barry, representing Keep the Money in Nebraska, said, “My clients are obviously thrilled with the result. They’re going to be taking the case to the Nebraska voters.”
Attorney David Lopez, who represents the anti-gambling group Gambling With the Good Life, said he still believes the initiatives would quickly lead to more tribal casinos in the state. “We respect the court’s decision. It’s the end of the legal battle. Our obligation now is to inform voters of all its implications,” he said.
In a statement, Governor Pete Ricketts, who opposes gambling, said, “While I respect the judgment of the court on the gambling initiatives, I urge Nebraskans to keep gambling out of the Good Life when they head to the polls in November.”
