Nebraska Online Sports Betting Legislation Moves Forward, But Time Running Thin

Sep 30, 2023; Lincoln, Nebraska, USA; Nebraska Cornhuskers quarterback Heinrich Haarberg (10) hands the ball off to running back Anthony Grant (23) against the Michigan Wolverines during the first quarter at Memorial Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Dylan Widger-USA TODAY SportsOne piece of an introduced Nebraska online sports betting package moved out of committee yesterdaySen. Eliot Bostar’s legislation, LR3CA, was approved Monday in the general affairs committeeHis accompanying bill, however, did not move out of committee and may delay a referendum question

A piece of Nebraska online sports betting legislation moved out of committee Monday afternoon, but its chances of approval during the state’s special legislative session on property tax relief may now be coming into question.

The Nebraska General Affairs Committee approved Sen. Eliot Bostar’s (D-29) legislation LR3CA, which will place an online sports betting question on an upcoming general election ballot for voter approval.

However, Bostar’s accompanying legislation, LB 13, did not move out of committee, which would delay the sports betting referendum question until the November 2026 ballot.

Questions Abound on Process

Bostar introduced his legislative package to the committee earlier this month during the state’s special session on property tax relief. Bostar’s legislation amends the Nebraska Racetrack Gaming Act to allow casinos to offer online sports betting, dedicating the majority of online sports betting tax revenues to property tax relief for state residents.

The committee yesterday approved LR3CA by a 5-2 vote. The legislation will place an online sports betting referendum question on an upcoming general election ballot for voter approval. If approved at the polls, the legislature will have the opportunity to approve online sports betting in the next legislative session.

Bostar recently amended LR3CA to give the Senate the opportunity to approve online sports betting legislation if approved by state voters, not requiring them to approve legislation as the original piece included.

Sen. John Cavanaugh (D-9) applauded the amendment to the legislation during the committee meeting, noting that it will give power to the voters to speak on the issue but ultimately allow the legislature to decide if it’s implemented in the state.

However, the process gets complicated from here. Bostar’s accompanying legislation, LB 13, was not approved by the general affairs committee. This piece of legislation allows the referendum question to be placed on the upcoming 2024 general election ballot. Without it, the question cannot appear on a ballot until the 2026 general election.

Despite not moving out of committee, there is still time for it to be amended and discussed in committee again, or another piece of unrelated legislation being approved that will allow for questions on the 2024 ballot.

Understand? Good.

All of this will be moot if LR3CA is not discussed and approved on the Senate floor prior to the conclusion of the special session, which could run through Saturday, Aug. 17.

Would Online Sports Betting Affect Property Taxes?

The special session was called by Nebraska Gov. Jim Pillen (D) to find solutions to lower state property taxes.

The proposed legislation dedicates 90% of online sports betting tax revenue to the Property Tax Credit Cash fund, which provides property tax relief for Nebraskans. Currently, in-person sports betting is taxed at a rate of 20% of gross sports betting revenue and dedicates 70% of tax revenue to the property tax fund. Bostar did note that he was flexible on changing the percentages for potential tax revenues.

Nebraska currently allows for in-person sports betting at state casinos. If online sports betting is approved, Bostar explained that Nebraska could expect an additional $32 million in total tax revenues over the next 2.5 years.

But exactly how much of an impact would approved online sports betting have on property tax relief? Not that much most likely.

According to the Nebraska Department of Revenue, property taxes paid in 2023 totaled $5,307,865,388 for an average property tax rate of 1.67%. If online sports betting brought in a little less than $13 million a year annually (with only 90% going to property tax relief), it would barely put a dent in the average property tax bill.

But, as one Senator said during the early August meeting, any solution right now that doesn’t take money or resources away from another piece of the budget is worth discussing.

“The situation here is you found a source of revenue where we’re not taking a slice of someone else’s part of the budget, or whatever they’re doing that we’re going to take money from or move money from,” Sen. Tom Brewer (R-43) said.