Nebraska’s horse racetrack sector is right-sized and the information doesn’t help the necessity to difficulty any extra racing licenses. That’s based on a brand new unbiased report commissioned by the state Racing and Gaming Fee that would put the kibosh on additional on line casino growth within the state.
A pc rendering of the WarHorse on line casino, presently below building in Omaha, Neb. The proposed Bellevue on line casino would divert $27.4 million a yr from the WarHorse if it got here to fruition, based on a brand new report. (Picture: WarHorse Gaming)
Lawmakers requested the fee to look at the state’s horse racing and on line casino markets and their socioeconomic affect, to be repeated each 5 years. That’s after Nebraska voters legalized on line casino gaming by approving the state’s Racetrack Gaming Act in a 2020 poll.
The vote amended the state structure to permit business casinos on the state’s six licensed racetracks. The brand new regulation tied probably profitable on line casino gaming to horse racing, a much less profitable business. This implies any operator who needs to enter the on line casino market will first must construct or purchase a racetrack and acquire a racing license from the state.
Defending the Market
There’s no want for any extra racetracks, based on the report, which has been seen by The Lincoln Journal Star. The researchers assert there may be “greater than enough capability with the state’s present six racing licenses to permit for a tripling or quadrupling of racing in Nebraska,” as quoted by the Journal Star.
By regulation, the Racing and Gaming Fee is required to think about the doable socioeconomic affect of license functions. It’s mandated to reject people who could possibly be detrimental to the well being of the present market.
That’s probably dangerous information for operators with a watch on Nebraska, who had already been prevented from making use of for licensing earlier than the report’s publication.
Chief amongst these could also be John Hassett, president of Aksarben Equine, who’s behind a venture to construct a $150 million racetrack within the metropolis of Bellevue, a part of the Omaha-Council Bluffs metropolitan space.
Based on the report, the Bellevue venue would eat into the income of present licensees, notably the WarHorse on line casino in Omaha. The on line casino is presently being constructed at Omaha’s Horsemen’s Park by Ho-Chunk Inc., the financial improvement arm of the Winnebago Tribe of Nebraska.
Of the $60.7 million in income the examine estimates the Belleview on line casino would generate, $38.5 million would come from different operators. Some $27.4 million of that will come from the Warhorse, the examine mentioned.
Room for Extra?
Hassett informed the Journal-Star he believes a license ought to solely be rejected if a venture is detrimental to the state’s general market, fairly than only one operator. He additionally famous that neighboring Iowa has 19 casinos and a inhabitants of three million, whereas Nebraska has simply six casinos and a inhabitants of two million.
I don’t suppose the utmost is six. I feel there’s most likely room for a number of extra, a pair out west, and I feel there’s loads of room for Bellevue,” he mentioned.
Lance Morgan, CEO of Ho-Chunk Inc., disagrees.
“This examine kills Bellevue,” he argued. “… The prevailing tracks are those that struggled and survived and put up the cash and the effort and time to create the business.”
