A legendary college football coach recently voiced opposition against gambling expansion in Nebraska.
Former Nebraska Cornhusker football head coach Tom Osborne spoke Monday, alongside some state leaders, as part of a rally by the anti-gambling coalition Gambling With the Good Life.
After a pro-gambling group collected 475,000 signatures to get three gambling initiatives on this November’s ballot over the summer, the Secretary of State refused to put them on the ballot. The state’s Supreme Court overturned the decision and Nebraskans will have the final say in whether expanded gambling comes to the Cornhusker State.
Initiative 429 would change the state constitution to allow for games of chance to be offered at the state’s licensed racetracks, Initiative 430 would establish a regulatory body to oversee the new market and Initiative 431 would place a 20 percent tax on gross gaming revenue. All three need to pass for casinos to be built.
During Monday’s gathering, Osborne urged the electorate to vote against the referendums.
“Most studies show that for every one dollar you get, you lose between three and four dollars in social costs,” said the 83-year-old. “And the people that bear the greatest burden of this problem will be the families, the spouses and the children of those who have a gambling problem because they pay the greatest price.”
Osborne coached the University of Nebraska football team from 1973-1997, compiling a 255-49-3 record and three NCAA National Championships. After he retired from football, Osborne was elected to three terms in the U.S. House of Representatives as a Republican.
Gov. Pete Ricketts, a Republican, and several other former state politicians, including former Democratic Gov. Bob Kerrey, spoke at the rally. They all echoed Osborne’s sentiment.
Nebraska has historically been one of the most anti-gambling states in the country. Outside of the state lottery, it only allows gambling at its racetracks. It is one of 10 states without a brick-and-mortar casino.
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