The Nebraska football program is going to be surrounded by sports gambling, even if the state’s governor keeps it illegal in the Cornhuskers’ home state.
On Monday morning, the world took a dramatic shift for both the Nebraska football and Nebraska basketball programs. The Supreme Court of the United States announced that sports gambling was officially legal.
That doesn’t mean that every state in the country is suddenly going to allow you to run out and bet on today’s baseball games. What it does mean is that every state in the country could allow you to run out and bet on today’s baseball games if they wanted.
Until yesterday, a 1992 federal law banned sports betting in the United States. Las Vegas was grandfathered into that law as the only place state-side you could do it.
If, like Obi Wan Kenobi, you felt a disturbance in the force, it was indeed millions of Vegas sports books employees crying out as one. The sporting landscape is changing and is likely to change fast, for both college and pro sports.
Anyone who knows the political landscape of Nebraska is likely going to caution those of you who have always wanted to *legally* bet on a Cornhusker game that you should hold off on opening that bottle of champagne though.
Shortly after the high court issued its groundbreaking ruling, Governor Pete Ricketts held a press conference where he reiterated that “sports gambling is still illegal here.” The Nebraska legislature has taken up expanded gambling, in one form or another, several years in a row.
Those attempts have largely been massive failures thanks to a concerted effort by anti-gambling forces led by none other than former Nebraska football head coach Tom Osborne. The good news, for those Husker fans who have been waiting and wishing to *legally* bet on Husker games is that there are about to be some other options even if Nebraska government collectively digs in its heels.
Nebraska football or basketball fans who want to write a thank you letter to someone for getting sports gambling legalized should address their envelopes “care of: Chris Christie.” The case went before the Supreme Court because the New Jersey governor wanted to legalize sports gambling in the Garden State.
Christie’s team specifically argued that it was unconstitutional for a federal law to tell the states what they must outlaw. SCOTUS agreed.
Technically, Christie has said that he wanted to keep sports gambling in the state centered on things like horse racing. He’s also not the governor anymore, so he can’t direct where the efforts will be placed in the near future.
Ricketts: 'Sports betting is still illegal in Nebraska, we have no plans to change that' https://t.co/Lnfj05MEju pic.twitter.com/vrMfuzsomd
— KETV NewsWatch 7 (@KETV) May 14, 2018
Most experts agree that states are going to start allowing sports gambling at casinos at the very least, much like it’s set up in Las Vegas. Because New Jersey has already been working to get this kind of past time set up, it seems more than likely that the home state of Big Ten team Rutgers is going to be among the first to allow fans to bet on college football and basketball from select locations.
And you thought there wasn’t any reason to allow the Scarlet Knights into the conference? Now that the path has been cleared, it would be foolish to think New Jersey is the only state in the conference that is going to allow you to *legally* place bets on just how badly the Nebraska football team thumps Illinois this season.
If, as a Nebraska football, or Nebraska basketball fan you think New Jersey is just too far away (despite Rutgers being in the conference) then I’ve got more good news for you. There’s a pretty decent chance you’ll only have to drive a few minutes in order to place your bets.
The Hawkeye state legislature had a bill brought before it in January of this year would allow casinos and racetracks licensed in Iowa to offer sports betting on-site and possibly online. Omaha residents likely know there are a few Iowa casinos just down the road in Council Bluffs.
The bill hasn’t passed just yet, but it appears the state legislature thought New Jersey’s challenge had merit. Now that SCOTUS has truly paved the way, it shouldn’t take long for some form of this bill to get passed.
Iowa wasn’t the only state around Nebraska that saw the potential for the Supreme Court striking down the 1992 law. Illinois, Indiana, Kansas and Missouri all brought sports gambling bills in January.
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When it comes to just how and when Nebraska football and Nebraska basketball fans can get their little hands on *legal* sports betting slips, the question unfortunately remains. Most legislatures around here are out of session for the year. While this is a big deal, it’s likely not big enough to call special sessions. The very real probability is that you will be able start placing bets on Cornhusker games *legally* for the first time in 2019.