Expanded sports gambling in Nebraska faces uphill legislative climb to 2026 ballot

Yahoo

16-04-2025

LINCOLN — Legalizing online sports gambling in Nebraska appears to be a risky bet for some state lawmakers. A proposed constitutional amendment advanced Monday but faces an uphill legislative climb, the Nebraska Examiner reports.
Legislative Resolution 20CA, from State Sen. Eliot Bostar of Lincoln, would put the decision on whether to legalize online sports betting to voters at the November 2026 election. It advanced 27-16 in the first round of debate in the 49-member body. But as at least one opponent promised a full-fledged filibuster during the next debate stage, the measure would need 33 votes instead.
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'Let's not leave this money on the table,' Bostar said, adding that Nebraskans are already placing bets but revenue is going to neighboring states.
State Sen. Dunixi Guereca, a freshman whose Omaha district is on the Iowa-Nebraska border, repeated Monday what he said in his 2024 campaign: from his front porch, he can see people going over a bridge to Iowa, pulling off into a gravel lot and placing bets. He said Nebraska's inaction is moving tax dollars to Iowa.
'I don't want you to like sports betting,' Bostar said, 'but I would hope that you would find an offense in us giving our money away to Iowa.' State Sen. Brad von Gillern of Elkhorn, left, listens to State Sen. Eliot Bostar of Lincoln. Aug. 8, 2024. (Zach Wendling/Nebraska Examiner)
Bostar said he knew his bill would face tight margins but that at least three of the six lawmakers who missed Monday's vote are in favor of his measure. It's getting the remaining three votes that could be tricky and could require flipping at least one current 'no' vote. Bostar pledged to work with his colleagues on any desired changes.
Of the senators who haven't yet voted on Bostar's measure, State Sens. Beau Ballard of Lincoln and Tom Brandt of Plymouth and Jane Raybould of Lincoln said they support it. State Sens. Rita Sanders of Bellevue and Brian Hardin of Gering opposed an identical measure in August.
State Sen. Glen Meyer of Pender, the sixth lawmaker, said he remains 'on the fence.'
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Constitutional amendments have narrower changes that can be made compared to legislative bills. If approved next year, lawmakers would need to carry out voters' wishes in 2027.
Bostar has repeatedly defended the legislative push as a way to keep lawmakers in the 'driver's seat of what regulation looks like' and direct new revenue toward property tax relief. Bostar has estimated that the change would generate at least $32 million each year.
State Sen. Brad von Gillern of the Elkhorn area, who chairs the Legislature's Revenue Committee, led opposition to Bostar's bill. He distributed handouts during the debate about the potential social harms of gambling, including depression, anxiety and bankruptcy.
Von Gillern said gambling is predatory by nature, particularly for young men who might face an 'illusion of control' from the rapid gratification of 24/7 access to online sports betting.
'Please don't sell out our young people for property tax relief,' von Gillern told his colleagues.
In a letter Thursday to state lawmakers, U.S. Sen. Pete Ricketts, R-Neb.; former Gov. Kay Orr; former Huskers football coach and former U.S. Rep. Tom Osborne, R-Neb.; and State Auditor Mike Foley urged senators to reject Bostar's measure.
The quartet, who have regularly opposed gambling, said lawmakers should 'protect our youth and families from the suffering that comes with the addiction that online gambling brings.' Osborne testified against the previous Bostar proposal last summer.
Gov. Jim Pillen has voiced support for legalizing online sports betting, in contrast to his predecessors and his former NU coach and mentor. Pillen has made property tax relief a key goal of his administration.
Multiple senators, for and against Bostar's measure, agreed that if lawmakers don't act, gambling advocates might push for getting a broader measure to voters next year anyway.
State Sen. Stan Clouse of Kearney echoed Bostar that lawmakers needed to act now to determine what that should look like. He and Bostar said that when the Legislature fails to meet voters' demands — such as paid sick leave, minimum wage or medical cannabis — the people often go beyond original legislative attempts.
Guereca said that if lawmakers waited, rather than the state collecting 20% of revenue for taxes, the potential revenue might drop, foregoing funds for tax relief or to help problem gamblers.
State Sen. Jason Prokop of Lincoln, who selected Bostar's measure as his 2025 priority, said passing LR 20CA would allow lawmakers to set proper guardrails and consumer protection measures around online betting.
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State Sen. Margo Juarez of Omaha, the only progressive to vote against Bostar's measure, said she has gambled at the WarHorse Casino and connected racetrack in her Omaha neighborhood. She said she read a lot of information during the debate and was struck about the scale of debt that could be built up in a matter of moments.
'I think that I would rather see people come to the casino, come to my neighborhood, have fun, and I guess make more of an effort than having it at your fingertips,' Juarez said. 'I could see how that could be so much more out of control.'
State Sen. Tony Sorrentino of the Elkhorn area said taxation wouldn't help families, and State Sen. Jared Storm of David City called the measure 'taxation by exploitation,' most hurting young college students who might gamble away rent or tuition.
'As state senators, we have to stand up for those people,' Storm said.
State Sen. Jana Hughes of Seward, noting her son falls in that demographic, said she struggled with supporting LR 20CA while the Legislature is advancing online protections for youths on social media through LB 504 from State Sen. Carolyn Bosn of Lincoln or LB 383 from State Sen. Tanya Storer of Whitman to require age verification.
Bosn supported Bostar's measure while Storer did not. Storer said the measure should include an explicit provision requiring age verification to ensure bettors are 21 or older.
State Sens. Tom Brandt of Plymouth and Ben Hansen of Blair pushed back on opponents and said the Legislature shouldn't stand in the way. Brandt described it as becoming a 'nanny state.'
Hansen pointed to other addictive behaviors — alcohol, smoking and refined sugar — and said if opponents were against addiction they had a line of other activities to go after. He said the line was between 'the side of liberty or tyranny' and that he would 'always err on the side of liberty.'
State Sen. Christy Armendariz of Omaha, who voted against LR 20CA, said she's not against the issue going on the ballot, but she said supporters should go through the petition process.
Juarez said that petition process could be good, such as through more in-depth, one-on-one conversations with voters.
Even if LR 20CA passes, not all supporters said they would vote for it on the ballot, such as State Sen. Mike Jacobson of North Platte.
'At the end of the day, if it goes on the ballot, I'm going to vote 'no,'' Jacobson said. 'But I think that people should have the opportunity to make that decision.'
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