Nebraska sports betting expansion bills battle criticism

Nebraskan lawmakers are divided on a collection of bills that could be poised to expand sports betting.

Nebraska’s General Affairs Committee spent hours debating a number of bills aiming to expand sports betting on Monday, March 10. First, Senator Elliott Bostar’s LR20CA proposes a constitutional amendment to put online sports wagering on the election ballot in November of next year.

Elsewhere, Senator Stan Clause’s LB 421 and Senator Ashlei Spivey’s LB 438 both aim to legalize betting under different terms, while two further bills from Senator Tom Brandt, LB 63 and LB 342, has dual aims of expanding betting on in-state college teams and allowing daily fantasy sports.

Looking at Bostar’s LR20CA, the bill was already proposed in a special session in 2024. It seeks to allow licensed racetracks to partner with an online sportsbook. Revenue from the partnership would be largely assigned to the Nebraska Environmental Trust Fund and in-state education.

Senator Bostar, along with the other senators, emphasized that Nebraskan citizens are already engaging in sports betting and gambling but that the state is losing out on the potential of an estimated $32 million in tax revenue. Instead, the money is getting filtered away through a combination of illegal markets and five neighbouring states that have legalized online betting.

Concerns in the room stem largely from worries around gambling addiction, harm, and the possible impact on people’s finances, particularly for families. In the case of Bostar’s bill, for example, it had three in support and more than 50 opponents.

“If they want to bet on sports, they can, but this is trying to force it onto every device in the state,” said Nate Grasz of the Nebraska Family Alliance, as reported by SBC Americas.

“Anybody who wants to find online gambling can already find it,” added Mike Sciandra of the Nebraska Gamblers Assistance Program.

Other proposals, such as Clause’s LB 421 and Spivey’s LB 438, went down the path of suggesting frameworks for regulation, rather than financial benefits. However, support in the room was similarly limited.

Featured image: Wikimedia Commons, licensed under CC BY 2.0

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