Nebraska Online Poker Bill IntroducedBill Would Legalize Poker, Sports Betting and Daily Fantasy Sports |
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A bill was introduced earlier this week into the Nebraska legislature that would legalize sports betting, daily fantasy sports and online poker.
Sen. Justin Wayne, a Democrat from Omaha, introduced LB 990, known as the game of skill act. It would classify those three activities as a skill-based game and thereby legal. If passed, Nebraska would become the seventh state to legalize online poker, joining Nevada, New Jersey, Delaware, Pennsylvania, West Virginia and Michigan.
While the bill doesn’t specifically mention internet poker or online sports betting, Catena Media is reporting that Wayne claimed that the intention of the bill was to include the online versions.
It is also being reported that based on the language of the bill, stud games would not be considered games of skill. The bill states that only draw games and games with community cards would be designated as skill-based games. It seems likely that this is a simple oversight by legislators unfamiliar with poker and that the language will be amended before voted on.
In the proposed legislation, operators could apply for a gambling license for a $10,000 registration fee and would have its revenue taxed at six percent. These taxes would be used to help lower property taxes for Nebraskans.
Currently, there isn’t much gambling in Nebraska. They are one of the 25 states without a commercial casino and are home to just a handful of tribal casinos.
Last year, however, support grew to expand gambling in the Cornhusker State as a petition filed by gaming proponents to put commercial casino gambling on the ballot in 2020. Its supporters argued that most Nebraskans are crossing borders to gamble and that the government should keep the money in Nebraska.
Wayne used the same logic when advocating for his own bill. He said that 80 percent of all sports bets placed in Iowa were from a native of Nebraska.
If passed, Nebraska would be one of the smaller states with legal online poker. It’s population of 1.929 million is greater than only Delaware and West Virginia. Pennsylvania, on the other hand, has 12.81 million citizens.
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