Time to Legalize Casinos?
A proposed constitutional amendment that would legalize casino gambling in Nebraska did not attract any supporters to a legislative committee hearing today, although some lawmakers on the committee seemed supportive of the idea.
Keno, horse racing and lotteries are legal in Nebraska, but video gaming and casinos are not. In 2004, Nebraskans rejected two proposals that would have allowed casino gambling and in 2006 they voted against legalizing video keno.
State Sen. Paul Schumacher, a Columbus attorney who has represented keno interests in the past, proposed the resolution legalizing casinos, with a provision that would bar them within 60 miles of any bordering state that agrees to share some of its gaming revenue with Nebraska. Schumacher said Nebraska is losing out on gambling revenue to neighboring states and he estimates the state could reap $70 million to $120 million per year by legalizing casinos.
Nobody testified in support of Schumacher’s bill, although Sen. Tyson Larson defended the idea through his questioning of the five opponents of the legislation, LR375CA. Larson accepted $1,000 from an Omaha horse racing company while running for the Legislature in 2010, according to state records.
Pat Loontjer, executive director of Gambling with the Good Life, said Nebraska voters have already spoken loud and clear on the subject of expanding gambling – rejecting casinos even though anti-gambling forces were outspent 23 to 1 in 2004.
“I’m embarrassed by this bill because I feel it’s made us the laughing stock of the state,” she said. “The thought of blackmailing our neighbors is just ludicrous. We’re better than that.”
Al Riskowski, executive director of the Nebraska Family Council, said Schumacher’s resolution takes the power from the people and puts it in the hands of the Legislature to decide gambling issues. Larson repeatedly asked Riskowski and other opponents what would be wrong with allowing Nebraskans to vote on expanding gambling – whether every 20 years or every two years.
“What’s so wrong with people in Nebraska deciding what they want or if this is a good idea or not?” Larson asked.
Riskowski said Nebraskans have already voted on the issue, and it’s expensive for interest groups to educate people every time the issue comes up.
Retired Nebraska Wesleyan Economics Professor Loretta Fairchild said the social costs of allowing casinos would exceed revenue and cited a study showing mid-sized Iowa towns with gambling experienced a decline in taxable retail sales. Legalizing casinos brings added costs to courts, police and social services, she said.
Larson cast doubt on the study, questioning the methodology and parallels to Nebraska. He cited cities like Las Vegas, which live off gambling, but Fairchild said gambling is not a stable source of revenue even there, and the only way it increases a city’s revenue is if the city becomes a destination that brings in outsiders to “leave their money and take their problems home.” Otherwise, she said, people spend money in casinos that they otherwise would have spent elsewhere or saved.
Schumacher said gaming is the only thing the state constitution bars the Legislature from legislating – which he called a vestige “that stands in the way of common sense.” Nebraskans already have gambling opportunities, since 66 percent of residents live within an hour of casinos.
“We have gambling opportunities,” he said. “What we don’t have is the money. … This is a revenue measure, not a gambling revenue.”
Reported by Deena Winter, deena@nebraskawatchdog.org.
Follow @Deena_Winter
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Posted by Nebraska Watchdog on January 30, 2012. Filed under Nebraska.
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