An effort to expand sports betting in Nebraska has come up against someone not used to losing in Lincoln.
Tom Osborne, the retired Nebraska Cornhuskers football coach who won 255 games and three national championships in a 25-year career, testified in a legislative committee against proposals to expand sports betting beyond a handful of retail outlets and onto mobile phones.
He was one of roughly 30 who testified in opposition, but the 87-year-old was the marquee voice condemning multiple aspects of an expansion, including its potential impact on college athletes in a state with no major professional sports teams and Cornhusker sports are religion.
Osborne, a former US Congressman and long-time gambling foe, attempted to refute estimates of money from his state flowing into neighboring states’ legal markets, quipping that if that were the case, border town Council Bluffs, Iowa, would be much more plush.
Along with warnings about gambling addiction, Osborne also hit on a point with local resonance considering the gambling scandal involving multiple athletes at Iowa and Iowa State last year.
“Having been involved in athletics for most of my life, I can attest to the fact that the most intense criticism and negative circumstances that coaches and athletes have is often not just due to losing on the scoreboard,” Osborne testified. “It often results from not beating the point spread, not meeting such metrics such as number of turnovers, yards lost, yards gained, points scored, etc.”
Added Osborne: “So you’re out there, you’ve got 80,000 people watching — and a whole bunch more on TV — and you’re 18,19, 20 years old, and you have a lot on your shoulders,” Osborne said. “And you don’t need to have gambling problems exacerbate that problem.”
Nebraska Mobile Sports Betting Considered
The Nebraska Legislature General Affairs Committee made no decisions on Wednesday regarding either two proposed constitutional amendments to put sports betting on the ballot in November or a bill that would be debated by the unicameral state governing body.
At the end of a four-hour session, Sen. Eliot Bostar, the sponsor of LB 13, the mobile sports betting bill, and LR 3CA, one of the constitutional amendment proposals, seemed as beleaguered as one of Osborne’s early season non-conference foes withering at Memorial Stadium. And it wasn’t just because of Osborne. Several committee members were skeptical about how an expansion would dent what Bostar admitted was a thriving black market in the state.
There was also pushback on how much sports betting revenue would impact the property tax situation. Gov. Jim Pillen wants to halve Nebraska’s property tax bill, which would require $1.8 billion. Studies suggest LB13 could generate up to $32 million yearly.
“Genuinely, I think we can talk this through,” Bostar said, ending his testimony, “and I hope we’ll have the opportunity to vote for it.”
Brendan Bussmann, the managing partner of B2 Global was critical of the the proponents’ preparation.
“In my twenty years in gaming, that has to be one of the worst hearings I’ve witnessed,” he told Gaming Today. “I’m not sure if the proponents just thought this was an automatic touchdown or just were lazy in educating senators on the merits of mobile sports betting. It’s really unfortunate that happened, but it seems to be the recent trend with some of the groups lobbying on behalf of sports betting.
Gambling Calculus in Nebraska
Osborne joined former Governor Kay Orr, State Auditor Mike Foley, and Senator Pete Ricketts in releasing a joint letter on Wednesday opposing sports betting expansion.
Just five Nebraskans — among them Lance Morgan, president and CEO of Ho-Chunk Inc., which currently offers retail sports betting at two casinos — testified in favor of expansion. Sports betting is being considered in a special session meant to address Nebraska’s property tax woes, and Morgan noted that adding mobile sports betting would make the practice available to rural swathes of the state where the most accessible legal market was in Iowa.
Pillen, who played football for Osborne, doesn’t consider himself a gambling advocate but has suggested he may support sports betting expansion.
“I’m a little reluctant to talk about this because I haven’t talked to Coach [Osborne] about it, but the people have spoken,” he told reporters in Nebraska. “We’ve approved gambling. Online sports betting is real, and it’s happening in the state. Whoever wants to do it is doing it, and we’re giving all the revenue to our neighbors.”
Osborne joined former Governor Kay Orr, State Auditor Mike Foley, and Senator Pete Ricketts in releasing a joint letter on Wednesday opposing sports betting expansion.
About the Author
