Nearly seven months into the year, no US jurisdiction has legalised or expanded gambling. Will Nebraska be the first?
Nebraska’s state legislature started a special session last week and, on Wednesday (30 July), the general affairs committee will debate five bills that could legalise digital sports betting and daily fantasy sports.
At the heart of the move to legalise digital sports betting is Nebraska’s high property taxes, which fund education. According to one of the bills, the state ranks among the top 10 in the US in “property tax burden” and “relies more heavily on local property taxes to support public education” than other states. The goal is reduce property taxes by using online sports betting revenue to defray the costs to homeowners.
Nebraskans approved an expansion of gaming in November 2020. At that time, it wasn’t clear whether or not that expansion included sports betting – retail or digital. But lawmakers eventually decided that in-person wagering met the criteria. ..