GAMBLING: SPLIT OUT SPORTS BETTING & ELECTRONIC KENO in LB561
BACKGROUND:
Gambling With the Good Life needs your help tonight & tomorrow morning to contact Senators.
1. LB561 is the gambling consolidation bill that has been designated a priority bill by Senator Tom Briese and will be heard first thing Wednesday morning, 3-17-21.
A. This bill contains: Consumer protections which we desperately want.
B. Also contains Sports Betting and Electronic Keno which we don’t want as it would be extremely detrimental to Nebraska families.
2. Electronic Keno was never part of the committee hearing on Feb. 1st - that is awful. They just threw it in.
3. Sports betting was not included in the language which was approved by voters through the ballot initiatives in 2020. This would be a terrible and unnecessary expansion of gambling!
4. Our tactic is to have a Senator who will ask to "Divide the Question" when the bill is introduced tomorrow. This will require that separate recorded votes be taken on sports betting, electronic keno, and the rest of the bill.
5. The “Divide the Question” is a decision that the clerk & Speaker can make and we pray that they will indeed divide into at least 3 separate votes.
6. Our best hope for getting Consumer Protection passed & signed by the Governor is without Sports Betting or Electronic Keno in the bill.
YOUR ACTIONS:
1. Please contact your state senator and urge them not to vote for LB561 unless sports betting and electronic keno are removed.
2. Tell your senator that if sports betting and electronic keno are divided out and separated from the rest of the bill, please vote against sports betting, vote against electronic keno, and vote yes on the rest of LB561.
3. Find your senator here: Be sure to mention that you are a constituent --- that carries a lot of weight! (click on first red button for list of Senators and their contacts)
4. If you have time to email a handful of senators, please send them a personalized email letter as well.
(click second button for Tom Osborne letter to all Senators)
Thank you for your help in this important issue to protect our families.
Blessings, Mark Bonkiewicz, NFFV Board Member
