LINCOLN- Former Husker coach Tom Osborne urged lawmakers Monday not to allow betting on Husker home football games and other in-state matches played by Nebraska college and university teams. LB168 would lift the prohibition in state law against betting on home games of Nebraska college teams. The bill would direct tax revenues from those bets into the state’s college scholarship fund.

State Sen. Eliot Bostar of Lincoln, who introduced the bill, said he wanted to provide consistency, not expand gambling. He pointed out that a law passed in 2021 allows people to bet on Nebraska collegiate teams or athletes when they are competing outside of the state. “Nebraska teams are already subject to sports betting, just not in Nebraska,” he said.

Nate Grasz, speaking for the Nebraska Family Alliance, said the prohibition was part of a compromise agreement that helped clear the way for passage of the 2021 law. Lynne McNally of WarHorse Casino said laws allowing college athletes to get paid for the use of their name, image and likeness have changed the dynamics for those athletes. She said they would resist pressure from gamblers because they want to maximize the money they can make through what is commonly called NIL.

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