Nebraska is trying out casino gaming, which people believed would hurt charitable gambling initiatives. Luckily, this doesn’t seem to be the case, at least as of now, Nebraska Examiner reported.
Charitable gambling verticals gained a new competitor in September when Nebraska’s first legal casino, the WarHorse Casino, opened its doors. The venue is currently operating in a converted simulcast facility as it awaits the construction of its official location. The true WarHorse Casino will be a huge $200 million casino resort in southwest Lincoln.
Meanwhile, another gambling facility was opened at Grand Island’s Fonner Park racetrack. The casino in question is also operating in a temporary location.
However, the temporary nature of these venues means that the current results might be unreliable.
Casinos May Still Impact Charitable Gambling
According to Nebraska’s Q4 2022 gambling report, people in the state wagered a total of $97.2 million on keno, pickle cards, bingo and the state lottery, which represents a slight increase over July, August and September.
The only form of charitable gaming that declined during the last three months of 2022 was bingo, which earned $100,000 less than it did in the third quarter of the year.
The logical conclusion is that the launch of casinos in the Cornhusker State did not impact competitor offerings negatively. Yet, it is still early to say for certain whether that will continue to be the case.
Brian Rockey, the state lottery and charitable gaming director, certainly isn’t convinced that these results are definitive. After all, casino gaming is just beginning and the venues in question are yet to move to their permanent quarters. Because of that, Rockey fears that once full-blown casinos are open, things might be different.
The worst-case scenario for Nebraska would be a 10% drop in wagering on charitable gambling – a figure that has been recorded in other states that have legalized casinos. Still, Rockey hopes that the actual impact of casino gaming would be much less severe.
More Casinos to Open
The legalization of casino gaming in Nebraska has been a long and difficult process. Currently, the state has plans to open racinos – casinos attached to a racetrack – in Columbus, Grand Island, Hastings, Lincoln, Omaha and South Sioux City. The Columbus casino, which will be operated by Harrah’s Entertainment, recently began construction.
This arrangement would prevent Nebraska from being flooded with casinos while providing the state with extra tax revenues.
Meanwhile, Nebraska is eyeing the legalization of wagering on college football.