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LEGISLATIVE BILL 775
Approved by the Governor April 21, 2023
Introduced by Lowe, 37; Brewer, 43; Hardin, 48; Holdcroft, 36; Hughes, 24;
Cavanaugh, J., 9; Blood, 3.
A BILL FOR AN ACT relating to gambling; to amend sections 2-1205, 9-204,
9-204.04, 9-601, 9-603, 9-606, 9-607, 9-646.01, 9-651, 9-1103, 9-1106,
9-1110, 81-3717, and 81-3720, Reissue Revised Statutes of Nebraska; to change provisions relating to horseracing, the Nebraska Bingo Act, the Nebraska County and City Lottery Act, the Nebraska Racetrack Gaming Act,
and the Nebraska Visitors Development Act; and to repeal the original sections.
Be it enacted by the people of the State of Nebraska,
Section 1. Section 2-1205, Reissue Revised Statutes of Nebraska, is amended to read:
2-1205 (1) If the commission is satisfied that its rules and regulations and all provisions of sections 2-1201 to 2-1218 have been and will be complied with, it may issue a license for a period of not more than five years. The license shall set forth the name of the licensee, the place where the races or
race meetings are to be held, and the time and number of days during which racing may be conducted by such licensee. Any such license issued shall not be
transferable or assignable. The commission shall have the power to revoke any license issued at any time for good cause upon reasonable notice and hearing.
No license shall be granted to any corporation or association except upon the express condition that it shall not, by any lease, contract, understanding, or arrangement of whatever kind or nature, grant, assign, or turn over to any person, corporation, or association the operation or management of any racing or race meeting licensed under such sections or of the parimutuel system of
wagering described in section 2-1207 or in any manner permit any person,
corporation, or association other than the licensee to have any share,
percentage, or proportion of the money received for admissions to the racing or
race meeting or from the operation of the parimutuel system; and any violation of such conditions shall authorize and require the commission immediately to
revoke such license. No licensee shall be considered in violation of this section with respect to an agreement with an authorized gaming operator regarding employees and the acceptance of any parimutuel wager or sports wager pursuant to section 9-1110.
(2)(a) Any racetrack for which a licensee is issued a license to conduct a race or race meeting under sections 2-1201 to 2-1218 which is in existence and operational as of April 20, 2022, shall:
(i) Hold a minimum of five live racing meet days and fifty live horseraces annually beginning January 1, 2026, through December 31, 2030; and
(ii) Beginning January 1, 2031, hold a minimum of fifteen live racing meet days and one hundred twenty live horseraces annually.
(b) Any racetrack for which a licensee is issued a license to conduct a race or race meeting under sections 2-1201 to 2-1218 which is not in existence and operational until after April 20, 2022, shall:
(i) Hold a minimum of one live racing meet day annually for the first three years of operation;
(ii) Hold a minimum of five live racing meet days and fifty live horseraces annually for the fourth year of operation through the seventh year of operation; and
(iii) Beginning with the eighth year of operation, hold a minimum of
fifteen live racing meet days and one hundred twenty live horseraces annually.
(c) A racetrack that fails to meet the minimum requirements under this subsection is subject to discipline by the commission, including revocation of
the license issued under sections 2-1201 to 2-1218.
(3) A racetrack for which a licensee is issued a license to conduct a race or race meeting under sections 2-1201 to 2-1218 in existence on November 1,
2020, which is located in the counties of Adams, Dakota, Douglas, Hall,
Lancaster, and Platte, may move such racetrack location to another county in
Nebraska that does not have a racetrack one time only, subject to approval by
the commission as provided in subdivision (27) of section 9-1106, subsequent to
the initial issuance of the market analysis and socioeconomic-impact studies conducted pursuant to section 9-1106.
Sec. 2. Section 9-204, Reissue Revised Statutes of Nebraska, is amended to
read:
9-204 (1) Bingo shall mean that form of gambling in which:
(a) The winning numbers are determined by random selection from a pool of
seventy-five or ninety numbered designators; and
(b) A player marks Players mark by physically daubing or covering or,
automatically or manually with the aid of a bingo card monitoring device,
enters or otherwise conceals concealing those randomly selected numbers which match on a bingo card that the player has cards which they have purchased or
leased only at the time and place of the bingo occasion.
(2) Bingo shall not mean or include:
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(a) Any scheme which uses any mechanical gaming device, computer gaming device, electronic gaming device, or video gaming device which has the capability of awarding something of value, free games redeemable for something of value, or tickets or stubs redeemable for something of value;
(b) Any activity which is authorized or regulated under the Nebraska County and City Lottery Act, the Nebraska Lottery and Raffle Act, the Nebraska Pickle Card Lottery Act, the Nebraska Small Lottery and Raffle Act, the State Lottery Act, section 9-701, or Chapter 2, article 12; or
(c) Any activity which is prohibited under Chapter 28, article 11.
Sec. 3. Section 9-204.04, Reissue Revised Statutes of Nebraska, is amended to read:
9-204.04 Bingo card monitoring device shall mean a technological aid which allows a bingo player to automatically or manually enter bingo numbers as they are announced at a bingo occasion and which enters marks or otherwise conceals those numbers on bingo cards which are electronically stored in and displayed on the device. A bingo card monitoring device shall not mean or include any device (1) into which currency, coins, or tokens may be inserted or from which currency, coins, tokens, or any receipt for monetary value can be dispensed or
(2) which, once provided to a bingo player, is capable of communicating with any other bingo card monitoring device or any other form of electronic device or computer, except that such device may communicate with its host system.
Sec. 4. Section 9-601, Reissue Revised Statutes of Nebraska, is amended to
read:
9-601 Sections 9-601 to 9-653 and sections 6 and 11 of this act shall be
known and may be cited as the Nebraska County and City Lottery Act.
Sec. 5. Section 9-603, Reissue Revised Statutes of Nebraska, is amended to
read:
9-603 For purposes of the Nebraska County and City Lottery Act, the definitions found in sections 9-603.02 to 9-618 and section 6 of this act shall be used.
Sec. 6. Digital-on-premises ticket means a digital ticket purchased in
person on a mobile or other electronic device verified to be present at the location of the lottery operator or an authorized sales outlet location in
accordance with subdivision (3)(b) of section 11 of this act.
Sec. 7. Section 9-606, Reissue Revised Statutes of Nebraska, is amended to
read:
9-606 Gross proceeds shall mean the total aggregate receipts received from the conduct of any lottery conducted by any county, city, or village without any reduction for prizes, discounts, taxes, or expenses and shall include receipts from admission costs, any consideration necessary for participation,
and the value of any free tickets, games, or plays used, except that gross proceeds shall not include any admission costs collected at any location where the lottery is also available to the public free of any admission charge.
Sec. 8. Section 9-607, Reissue Revised Statutes of Nebraska, is amended to
read:
9-607 (1) Lottery shall mean a gambling scheme in which:
(a) The players pay or agree to pay something of value for an opportunity to win;
(b) Winning opportunities are represented by tickets;
(c) Winners are solely determined by one of the following two methods:
(i) By a random drawing of tickets differentiated by sequential enumeration from a receptacle by hand whereby each ticket has an equal chance of being chosen in the drawing; or
(ii) By use of a game known as keno in which a player selects up to twenty numbers from a total of eighty numbers on a paper ticket and a computer, other electronic selection device, or electrically operated blower machine which is
not player-activated randomly selects up to twenty numbers from the same pool of eighty numbers and the winning players are determined by the correct matching of the numbers on the paper ticket selected by the players with the numbers randomly selected by the computer, other electronic selection device,
or electrically operated blower machine, except that (A) no keno game shall permit or require player activation of lottery equipment and (B) the random selection of numbers by the computer, other electronic selection device, or electrically operated blower machine shall not occur within five minutes of the completion of the previous selection of random numbers; and
(d) The holders of the winning paper tickets are to receive cash or prizes redeemable for cash. Selection of a winner or winners shall be predicated solely on chance; and .
(e) Tickets are issued either (i) on paper or (ii) with the consent of the governing body of the county, city, or village conducting the lottery,
digitally to a mobile or other device which, at the time of purchase, is verified to be present at the location of the lottery operator or an authorized sales outlet location as provided in subdivision (3)(b) of section 11 of this act.
(2) Lottery shall not include:
(a) Any gambling scheme which uses any mechanical gaming device, computer gaming device, electronic gaming device, or video gaming device which has the capability of awarding something of value, free games redeemable for something of value, or tickets or stubs redeemable for something of value;
(b) Any activity authorized or regulated under the Nebraska Bingo Act, the Nebraska Lottery and Raffle Act, the Nebraska Pickle Card Lottery Act, the Nebraska Small Lottery and Raffle Act, the State Lottery Act, section 9-701, or Chapter 2, article 12; or
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(c) Any activity prohibited under Chapter 28, article 11.
(3) Notwithstanding the requirement in subdivision (1)(c)(ii) of this section that a player select up to twenty numbers, a player may select more than twenty numbers on a paper ticket when a top or bottom, left or right,
edge, or way ticket is played. For a top or bottom ticket, the player shall select all numbers from one through forty or all numbers from forty-one through eighty. For a left or right ticket, the player shall select all numbers ending in one through five or all numbers ending in six through zero. For an edge ticket, the player shall select all of the numbers comprising the outside edge of the ticket. For a way ticket, the player shall select a combination of
groups of numbers in multiple ways on a single ticket.
(4) A county, city, or village conducting a keno lottery shall designate the method of winning number selection to be used in the lottery and submit such designation in writing to the department prior to conducting a keno lottery. Only those methods of winning number selection described in
subdivision (1)(c)(ii) of this section shall be permitted, and the method of
winning number selection initially utilized may only be changed once during that business day as set forth in the designation. A county, city, or village shall not change the method or methods of winning number selection filed with the department or allow it to be changed once such initial designation has been made unless (a) otherwise authorized in writing by the department based upon a written request from the county, city, or village or (b) an emergency arises in
which case a ball draw method of number selection would be switched to a number selection by a random number generator. An emergency situation shall be
reported by the county, city, or village to the department within twenty-four hours of its occurrence.
Sec. 9. Section 9-646.01, Reissue Revised Statutes of Nebraska, is amended to read:
9-646.01 (1)(a) No person or licensee, or any employee or agent thereof,
accepting wagers on a lottery conducted pursuant to the Nebraska County and City Lottery Act shall extend credit from the gross proceeds of a lottery to
participants in the lottery for the purchase of lottery tickets. No person shall purchase or be allowed to purchase any lottery ticket or make or be allowed to make any wager pursuant to the act unless he or she pays for such ticket or wager with cash, a debit card, the cash balance of a payment application, a transfer from a deposit account at a financial institution, or an account established in the name of the player with the lottery operator and funded as provided in subsection (2) of this section. For purposes of this section, cash shall mean United States currency having the same face value as
the price of the ticket or wager. A credit card shall not be accepted for payment for any wager on keno.
(b) A participant shall not use a debit card to purchase more than two hundred dollars of keno wagers from a lottery operator in a single calendar day.
(2) A lottery operator may allow participants to create an account to be used for lottery play. Such accounts may only be funded with cash, a debit card, the cash balance of a payment application, or a transfer from a deposit account at a financial institution. The lottery operator may also allow a participant to deposit prize money won from the lottery and refunds from the lottery into a lottery play account. A participant shall not deposit funds into any such account from a debit card transaction if the total amount of funds from all such debit card transactions in that calendar day would exceed two hundred dollars.
Sec. 10. Section 9-651, Reissue Revised Statutes of Nebraska, is amended to read:
9-651 Each county, city, or village conducting a lottery shall have its name clearly associated with printed on each ticket used in the lottery. No such ticket shall be sold unless such the name is clearly identified printed thereon.
Sec. 11. (1) Any purchase of a ticket for a keno game shall be made in
person at the location of the lottery operator or an authorized sales outlet location.
(2) The lottery operator shall file with the department the address of
each location where digital-on-premises tickets are sold. The lottery operator shall use reasonable safeguards approved by the department to ensure that digital-on-premises tickets are only accessible to individuals nineteen years of age or older.
(3) The lottery operator shall submit controls, for approval by the department, that include the following at the location of the lottery operator or the locations of its associated authorized sales outlets at which digital-
on-premises tickets are sold:
(a) Any specific procedure and any technology partner used to fulfill the requirements set forth by the department;
(b) Any location detection procedure to reasonably detect and dynamically monitor the location of a player attempting to purchase a digital-on-premises ticket for a keno game. The location procedures shall be designed so that a player outside the permitted boundary is rejected and the player is notified.
The permitted boundary shall be established in such a manner that access is not regularly available away from the property on which the licensed premises is
situated and such boundary is as closely matching to the actual or legal boundaries of the licensed premises as reasonably possible;
(c) Any other specific controls as designated by the department;
(d) A process to prominently display and easily impose any limitation
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parameters relating to the purchase of a digital-on-premises ticket for a keno game; and
(e) An easy and obvious method for a player to make a complaint and to
enable the player to notify the department if such complaint has not been or
cannot be addressed by the lottery operator.
(4) The department shall approve or deny the controls within thirty days after submission. If denied, the department shall provide the reasons for denial and allow the lottery operator to resubmit revised controls.
(5) The department may adopt and promulgate rules and regulations relating to digital-on-premises tickets. Such rules and regulations shall be adopted and promulgated no later than January 1, 2024.
Sec. 12. Section 9-1103, Reissue Revised Statutes of Nebraska, is amended to read:
9-1103 For purposes of the Nebraska Racetrack Gaming Act:
(1) Authorized gaming operator means a person or entity licensed pursuant to the act to operate games of chance within a licensed racetrack enclosure;
(2) Authorized gaming operator license means a license to operate games of
chance as an authorized gaming operator at a licensed racetrack enclosure;
(3)(a) Except as otherwise provided in subdivision (b) of this subdivision, authorized sporting event means a professional sporting event, a collegiate sporting event, an international sporting event, a professional motor race event, a professional sports draft, an individual sports award, an electronic sport, or a simulated game; and
(b) Authorized sporting event does not include an instate collegiate sporting event in which an instate collegiate or university team is a participant, a parimutuel wager, a fantasy sports contest, a minor league sporting event, a sporting event at the high school level or below regardless of the age of any individual participant, or any sporting event excluded by the commission;
(4) Collegiate sporting event means an athletic event or competition of an intercollegiate sport played at the collegiate level for which eligibility requirements for participation by a student athlete are established by a national association for the promotion or regula