Horse racing wager clarification bill stalls
Lawmakers voted Jan. 15 to bracket a bill intended to clarify pari-mutuel wagering rules.
LB642, introduced by Omaha Sen. Heath Mello, would clarify that it is illegal for any person or entity to accept pari-mutuel wagering except at a licensed racetrack facility. The bill also would increase criminal penalties for accepting pari-mutuel wagers outside of a licensed racetrack facility.
Mello said the bill is directed at nonlicensed, advanced-deposit wagering systems. These systems, he said, are accounts set up with a licensed horse racing association or a third party, from which a player may make wagers.
Websites have been accepting pari-mutuel wagers online, Mello said, in violation of state law.
“In Nebraska, the only legal place to wager on horseracing is at a licensed racetrack,” he said.
Currently, a nonlicensed person or entity operating an advanced-deposit wagering system for horse racing would be guilty of a Class I misdemeanor. The bill would increase the penalty to a Class IV felony.
Mello said other states have been successful in deterring illegal use of advanced-deposit wagering systems by increasing penalties.
Omaha Sen. Ernie Chambers opposed the bill, saying governors in some states likely would not extradite violators to Nebraska for prosecution.
“This bill, if it becomes law, will not be enforceable,” he said.
Following the adoption of two amendments offered by Mello and the General Affairs Committee aimed at clarifying the bill’s language, Chambers offered motions to indefinitely postpone and to bracket the bill.
Both motions failed, but Sen. Russ Karpisek of Wilber offered a second motion to bracket the bill until April 10, effectively killing the proposal. Although he supports LB642, Karpisek said Chambers’ opposition to the bill was holding up debate on more important measures.
“I do this bracket motion begrudgingly,” Karpisek said. “[This bill] does not rise to the time that we are spending on it.”
The motion was adopted on a vote of 25-2.
