LINCOLN — A proposal to allow gambling on old horse races broke from the legislative gates Monday. Backers hope the measure won't be a replay of previous such proposals, which died before the finish line.
State Sen. Scott Lautenbaugh of Omaha expressed confidence that Legislative Bill 1102 will fare better.
“I think we'll do well” in the Legislature,” he said. “As they say in the business, we're off and running.”
Pat Loontjer, executive director of Gambling with the Good Life, called the bill a “bad bet” for Nebraska and expressed disappointment that the bill made it out of committee.
Members of the Judiciary Committee advanced LB 1102 on a 5-2 vote Monday, with one member not voting. The measure is virtually assured of debate because Lautenbaugh has named it his priority for the session.
Lautenbaugh said the idea amounts to a variation on simulcast racing rather than a form of expanding gambling.
Betting on simulcast races has been legal since 1987 in Nebraska. With simulcast races, people bet on live races occurring at tracks around the world.
The bill would allow people to bet on past races, choosing from among 200,000 to 300,000 races stored in machines that resemble video lottery terminals.
Bettors would be given information about each horse's past performance but not the names of the horses or the dates, places and times of the races.
The machines would only be allowed at racetracks.
“It's what you're already doing at the track,” Lautenbaugh said, noting that he doesn't support casino gambling and voted against an earlier measure to allow off-track betting in Nebraska.
But Loontjer argued that the machines amount to “horse slots.” She said the bill would turn the state's five racetracks into casinos and open the state to casino gambling on Indian reservations.
Similar measures have been proposed in the past as a means to shore up the state's horse racing industry. A 2005 bill made it to the full Legislature but was shot down. A 2007 bill never got out of committee.
The Nebraska Attorney General's Office voiced concerns about the constitutionality of such machines in a Sept. 29, 2003, letter to a horsemen's group and reiterated its concerns in a Nov. 15, 2005, letter.
Assistant Attorney General L. Jay Bartel in 2003 said the machines could require a vote of the people because the Nebraska Constitution allows only live races at a track or races broadcast live from another track.
Sen. Brad Ashford of Omaha said backers pitched the new bill as a last gasp effort to save the industry.
Money from betting on historic horse races would help boost racing purses to attract better competition and increase interest in racing.
It also could be used to replace the track at State Fair Park in Lincoln, which is on land taken over by the University of Nebraska-Lincoln for a research park.
Earlier this year, horse racing representatives pushed an off-track betting proposal with the same argument. The proposal failed to advance.
The State Racing Commission has estimated the racing industry could see a $159 million boost in its parimutuel handle by adding old horse races.
The Nebraska Department of Revenue and legislative fiscal staff estimated a more modest $16 million increase.
Under a committee amendment to LB 1102, state taxes on parimutuel wagering would be divided among the state's problem gambling fund, community corrections programs and the office of violence prevention.
Five percent of the taxes would go for community betterment projects near racetracks.
Ashford said he was willing to support LB 1102 because it does not propose machines with instant payoffs like slot machines. Several bettors wager on the same race, and the payout is determined by how many bets are placed.
A company called RaceTech produces the Instant Racing machines used for such betting.
Contact the writer:
402-473-9583, martha.stoddard@owh.com
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