Nebraska lawmakers have recently been pushing to legalize sports betting and take advantage of the money flooding across state lines to neighboring governments.
GeoComply analyzes betting activity across North America, and it uncovered startling statistics showing how Nebraskans are crossing the Iowa border in their droves to place legal sports bets. All six neighboring states offer online sports betting in some shape or form.
The Vancouver-based company told a legislative committee that people had placed hundreds of thousands of wagers in a cornfield that lies just inside Iowa. GeoComply also counted almost 4 million attempts by people in Nebraska to bet during the NFL season.
Nebraskans hope a bill will pass during the current legislative session. The state’s general affairs committee debated four pieces of betting-related legislation on Monday, and most people agreed on the extent of black market activity in the state.
annual tax revenue from online sportsbooks could reach $32m
Retail sportsbooks are already up and running in four locations, although efforts to extend this to nationwide online betting have been unsuccessful in recent years. Proponents of expansions believe that annual tax revenue from online sportsbooks could reach $32m. Opponents believe that gambling rates will only increase and that social harms will outweigh the advantages of such a change.