At a long afternoon of hearings discussing several proposed pieces of gambling legislation in the Nebraska legislature on Wednesday, one of the most notable opponents was a Nebraskan football legend.
Tom Osborne, who coached the Nebraska Cornhuskers for 25 seasons until 1997 and won three national championships, spoke against Sen. Eliot Bostar’s LB13 and the Legislative Resolution 3CA.
LB13 would authorize existing licensed sportsbooks in the state to expand to mobile betting and remove the ban on betting on Nebraska home games, but would maintain the restrictions on college player props and in-game wagering. LR3CA would require voter approval, while LB13 would put the matter to the ballot box in November rather than in two years’ time.
Another bill, Sen. Tom Brandt’s LB32, would redefine authorized sporting events for better to allow betting on Nebraska colleges when they play in-state, as well as scrap the prohibitions on Nebraska college player props and in-game wagers.
Osborne, who has been a vocal opponent of gambling in the past, claimed considerable research has shown that gambling revenues produce a net loss of $3 for every one tax dollar received. In particular, he said gambling “cannibalizes normal expenditure” on things such as housing, clothing, food and education.
On the consumer side, Osborn said that the speed and convenience of gambling is “the greatest predictor” of gambling addiction. “And when you can pick up your phone or get on a computer and bet as much as you want as quickly as you want, I can guarantee you there will be increased addiction and increased costs.”
Drawing upon his decades of experience in collegiate sports, Osborn also discussed the risk that online gambling can pose to athletes.
“Having been involved in athletics for most of my life, I can attest to the fact that the most intense criticism coaches and athletes have is often not just due to losing on the scoreboard,” he added. “It also results from not beating the point spread, not meeting metrics such as number of turnovers, yards lost, yards gained, points scored etc. Athletic contests become less of a sporting event and more of a gambling exercise with a gambler’s financial security at risk.”
Nebraskans bet, one way or another
Osborn’s input was just one strand of a bigger conversation in the hearings on Wednesday as the committee mooted expanding Nebraska gambling from retail-only at casinos and racetracks to online across the state. The hearings were part of a broader special legislative session called for by Gov. Jim Pillen to assess potential avenues for lowering state property taxes.
It’s debatable just how much property tax relief online betting in the state would bring. Given that Nebraska’s property tax paid in 2023 was $5.3 billion and Sen. Bostar estimated that online sports betting would yield around $32 million across the first two-and-a-half years of legalization, we’re talking about a drop in the ocean.
There was expected opposition to the proposal from family groups and other typically anti-gambling viewpoints. But, as is often the case, a big argument for legalizing online betting was that Nebraskans are already doing it.
“Folks are crossing state lines or they’re circumventing the geolocation technology in order to make it appear they’re somewhere or they’re accessing underground on unregulated betting markets or foreign betting markets,” said Bostar. “These are all very popular… We’re absorbing the societal and social costs of those who have access to gambling, we’re just not getting any of the economic benefits. We’re giving it away to neighboring states, particularly Iowa.”
“We’re not even leaving resources on the table, we’re giving it away.”
Cornfield road trips
GeoComply’s Danny DiRienzo said GeoComply blocked 4.5 million geolocation checks in Nebraska over the past year as residents tried to access online sportsbooks. Some 118,000 legal sports betting accounts were detected in the state, up 45% year-over-year across the same time period.
He also noted an 84% YOY increase in the number of Nebraskans crossing the border to bet legally from 2023 to 2024. GeoComply detected 40,000 border crossings, of which 82%, went to Iowa, and processed around 500,000 geolocation checks near one particular cornfield in Iowa. DiRienzo suggested that indicates people driving to Iowa specifically to stop and place bets.
“What this shows is there is a demand for the illegal market within the state of Nebraska…” he said. “That is why you see such a vast amount of border crossings. Those are people who cannot sit on their couch and bet on DraftKings or FanDuel, so they’re getting in their car and driving… To me, that speaks to a demand for a legal, protected market.”
What’s next?
Whether any gaming bill actually makes it up to the plate during this special session remains uncertain. There was no action taken on the legislation during Wednesday’s hearing.
Although Gov. Pillen recently expressed support for online sports betting, Bostar stressed that time is of the essence. Pointing to Nebraska’s embrace of casinos and retail betting, he urged lawmakers to take what he considers a moderate step forward.
“All we’re doing by delaying is sending more of Nebraskans’ money to other states instead of using it to help the folks right here, our constituents… Leaving out just this piece doesn’t make any sense to me. We’re already here.”
