Nebraska Voters Approve Casinos at Racetracks

Nebraska voters on Nov. 4 passed by nearly a 2-to-1 margin a series of constitutional amendments that will allow casino gambling at horse racing tracks in the state. The move is expected to provide an economic boon to the state's racing industry.

The initiatives authorized casino gaming, applied taxes toward it, and steered some of its revenue toward property-tax relief and local governments. 

Racing in Nebraska has struggled next to states with other forms of gaming over the past 30 years. Lower-level racing is conducted at Lincoln Race Course, Horsemen's Park, Fonner Park, and a few other small tracks in the state, sometimes for very short meets.

One of the state's leading tracks, Ak-Sar-Ben, closed in 1995 due in part to facing out-of-state gambling competition.

Racing supporters are optimistic casinos will provide richer purses, more live racing, and improved amenities at the state's six tracks. The Nebraska Horsemen's Benevolent and Protective Association backed the gambling expansion, which was opposed by Nebraska Gov. Pete Ricketts.

This spring, when much of the country was shut down by the COVID-19 pandemic, Nebraska racing was exposed to more of a national audience. Fonner Park, which was able to sustain racing, extended its season and wagering soared to record levels amid less competition in the simulcast wagering marketplace.

In 2019 handle at Fonner Park was just over $12 million. By comparison, it reached more than $107 million this year, averaging over $3.6 million a day during the spectator-free portion of the meet during the spring onset of COVID-19.