The predatory gambling industry is spending millions of dollars this election season in a deceptive campaign to bring online sports betting to Nebraska.
For Nebraskans, it’s a losing bet.
“This is not a plan to help Nebraskans retain more of their hard-earned money,” Nebraska Family Alliance Executive Director Nate Grasz warns.
“This is gambling corporations running a smoke-and-mirrors campaign to push online sports betting, which has been a massive public policy failure that hurts families and put taxpayers in a worse financial position.”
Four major online sportsbooks — FanDuel, DraftKings, BetMGM and Fanatics — have spent nearly $7 million dollars in support of two ballot measures: The Online Sports Wagering Authorization Amendment and the Online Sports Wagering Regulation Initiative.
The first would amend Nebraska’s Constitution to allow authorized gambling operators to offer online sports betting. The second would amend Nebraska’s state laws to legalize online sports betting.
The four sportsbooks funneled their money through “Tax Relief Nebraska,” the committee which funded the signature gathering campaign to ensure both measures appeared on the ballot.
Nebraska’s Secretary of State on August 21 certified the Authorization Amendment and the Regulation Initiative each received enough voter signatures from Nebraska counties to go on the ballot this November.
But Nebraska Family Alliance, a Focus on the Family-allied Family Policy Council, claims “Tax Relief Nebraska” obtained signatures by unethically indicating their measures had to do with lowering property taxes.
This is a common gambling industry tactic for legalizing new forms of betting: The state taxes whatever the gambling industry earns. It directs a percentage of that money toward some “worthy” cause, like education. The industry, in turn, gets to claim that its legalization supports education.
In Nebraska’s case, “Tax Relief Nebraska” claims online sports betting would generate $87 million for the state over the next five years. An estimated 70% — a little over $60 million —would go toward property tax credits for Nebraskans.
That sounds like a lot of money. But, split over five years, that’s only about $12 million in property tax relief — less than half of one percent of the roughly $5 billion Nebraskans pay in property taxes each year.
And how much will citizens have to pay to receive that paltry tax relief? By Nebraska Family Alliance’s calculations, for the state to make $87 million in taxes off online sports betting in the next half decade, companies like DraftKings and FanDuel would first have to make $435 million off Nebraskans.
In other words, Nebraskans would have to gamble $7 to receive $1 in property tax credits.
“To tell voters [these ballot measures] are about tax relief, when the proposal is actually a major expansion of online gambling finance by out-of-state gambling companies—whose own estimates show less than a quarter of one percent in property tax relief—is a complete sham and raises serious questions about election integrity,” Grasz wrote in an article.
Legal online sports betting wreaks financial and social havoc on states. A recent UCLA and Harvard-based study of more than 5 million people found allowing online sports betting coincided with:
- A more than 12-point drop in a state’s average credit score;
- A 25% and 27% increase in a state’s delinquency rate on auto loan and credit card payments, respectively;
- A 9% increase in the average amount of money in collections in a state.
- A 25% increase in the average person’s likelihood of filing for bankruptcy.
These financial harms disproportionately impacted those with credit scores already below 600 points.
Several lawsuits accuse online sportsbooks like DraftKings of using unethical business practices to create and target problem gamblers.
Problem gamblers’ addiction, in turn, negatively affects an average of five people close to them, an authoritative Australian study determined in 2017.
One in seven problem gamblers admit to engaging in child abuse, according to the Maryland Center of Excellence on Problem Gambling. Children of problem gamblers are as much as three times more likely to experience abuse than their peers.
As many as one in four problem gamblers report engaging in domestic violence. Intimate partners of problem gamblers are more than 10 times more likely to receive emergency medical treatment for physical violence than those of problem drinkers.
Nearly one in five problem gamblers also report experiencing domestic abuse. Upwards of 30% of problem gamblers experience suicidal ideation, per the American Psychological Association.
“Nebraska’s future will not be built on getting our kids hooked on gambling, enriching billion-dollar out-of-state corporations, and asking Nebraska families to lose hundreds of millions of dollars in exchange for pennies in tax relief,” Grasz concludes.
“We should be strengthening families, protecting children, and building an economy that creates wealth, not one that depends on Nebraska families losing it.”
If you live in Nebraska, please consider voting “No” this November 3 on the Online Sports Wagering Authorization Amendment and the Online Sports Wagering Regulation Initiative.
Readers in other states, please consider the harmful impacts of online sports betting before participating or allowing your children to participate.
Additional Articles and Resources
Online Sports Betting Significantly Worsens Financial Health, Study Suggests
DraftKings Intentionally Creates Gambling Addicts, New Lawsuit Alleges