An effort to legalize online sports betting in Nebraska began Thursday with the introduction of LB 13 during a special legislative session.
The bill, which was introduced by Sen. Eliot Bostar, would allow the state’s existing retail sports betting locations to have one online skin. Sports betting revenue would still be taxed at 20%, although 90% of tax revenues would benefit property tax relief, which is the reason for the special session.
“The Legislature finds that Nebraska relies more heavily on local property taxes to public education compared to other states and consistently ranks in the top ten among all states in of per capita property tax burden on its citizens,” the bill says. “The Legislature further finds that [it] is important to authorize and impose a tax upon the gross gaming of sports wagering by means of an online sports wagering platform in order to create a property tax relief program to reduce the tax liability of property taxes paid to public education.”
Of note, Bostar’s bill eliminates current language that bans wagering on in-state college programs, like Nebraska and Creighton. Allowing betting on Nebraska football and Creighton basketball would lead to increased interest among sports bettors in the state.
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It’s unclear how much the bill will find during the special legislative session, and Governor Jim Pillen recently said he’d introduce an online sports betting bill in January.
While gaming stakeholders in the state are hopeful online sports betting legalization could move quickly, it’s unclear if legislators share that same desire or if they’ll wait for the 2025 session for deeper discussions about the topic.
If the bill successfully es during the special session, it still needs voter approval in November since it’s a constitutional amendment.
Committees are expected to begin discussing bills next week.
