Nebraska Court Approves Expanded Gambling To Be On November Ballot

• The Nebraska Supreme Court has approved for the expansion of its state’s legal gambling options to be put on the November ballot.
• This expansion will cover games of chance and will be offered at horse racetracks.
• Players will have to wait to see if the language would allow for sports betting to be legalized and offered in the state.

OMAHA, NE - The expansion of gambling in Nebraska has been approved to be on the ballot in November by the Nebraska Supreme Court.

With this approval, voters will be able to decide whether or not the state will begin to launch commercial casino gaming and possibly a state-regulated sportsbook.

There will be two laws created to regulate and tax the gambling industry including allowing some of the tax revenue to be funneled to a state property tax credit if casino gaming is approved.

"Nebraskans are actually spending about $380-million a year at out-of-state casinos," said Drew Niehaus, a spokesman for "Keep the Money in Nebraska". "So, bringing a good chunk of money back into the state means that all of that tax revenue can help the state. And, with 70-percent earmarked specifically for property tax, it's a big thing for Nebraskans everywhere whether they live close to a casino, or not."

The gambling-expansion that will be voted on will cover games of chance such as slot machines, roulette, blackjack, and craps. These games would be legal at Nebraska horse racetracks.

There are people that are opposed to the expansion of legal gambling in the state and do not believe in the tax benefits.

"Everything [is] a lie," said Pat Loontjer, Executive Director of the anti-gambling group “Gambling with the Good Life”. "The property tax thing, if you analyze it, is something like $30 per year per family. There's no property tax relief."

Due to the gambling ballot covering games of chance, it makes it unclear how sports betting could also be legalized because sports wagering has been considered more of a game of skill than of chance.

Players will have to wait to see if the language in the ballot would be able to extend to sports betting because even daily fantasy sports have not been officially legalized despite operators like FanDuel and DraftKings still accepting Nebraska gamblers.