Bill would decrease required time limit between Keno games

The General Affairs Committee heard testimony Jan. 30 on a bill that would amend the five-minute time limit required between Keno games.

LB1067, introduced by Wilber Sen. Russ Karpisek, would allow a county, city or village conducting a keno lottery to designate a time limit between games of less than five minutes, but not less than one minute.

Shortening the amount of time between keno games would give municipalities an opportunity to increase their revenue from the games, Karpisek said.

Omaha City Council President Thomas Mulligan testified in support of the bill.

“The equality that the bill could provide to local communities, if they so chose, is to put keno operations on the same playing field as other gambling operations in Nebraska,” Mulligan said.

Gary Krumland, assistant director of the Nebraska League of Municipalities, also testified in support of the bill.

He said 26 percent of Nebraska’s cities and villages have keno games, and the bill would give those communities local control.

Dave Wimmer, a business owner and member of Gambling with the Good Life, testified in opposition to the bill, calling it “unfair” to other businesses in the state.

“I find it hard to believe that if my business was declining, [the Legislature] would try and figure out a way for me to increase my business,” Wimmer said.

Loretta Fairchild, a retired economics professor, also testified in opposition to the bill, saying the current 5-minute limit is meant to let gamblers reconnect with their surroundings and think about their losses. Less time between games makes it harder to reflect on the consequences of gambling, she said.

The committee took no immediate action on the bill.