The midterm elections are over. Many were surprised by the results, including gaming insiders; gaming ended up with split and even conflicting decisions. When gaming was explicitly on the ballot, it lost and often by large margins.
Nebraska asked voters to decide whether Cornhuskers should be allowed to make a sports bet on a mobile/remote device, as bettors can in over 30 states. The financial argument is simple: Mobile betting produces 10 times as much revenue and, more importantly, tax revenue for the state. The big dog, New York, is taking in $100 million a month in sports betting taxes. The convenience argument is also solid. Bettors with access to mobile wagering can place a bet when and where they wish, including during a game. It is more exciting for the gambling fan, but riskier for the vulnerable. The pro campaign in Nebraska focused on the convenience and the anti-forces on risk. Former Nebraska football coach, Tom Osborne, is a dedicated opponent of gambling in any form. Tom led the anti-forces’ offense and his team scored a significant victory. There will be no online gambling in Nebraska, at least not now.
In Indiana, voters in three counties were asked if a casino should be permitted in their county. The supporters maintained that a resort – a $500 million dazzler – would bring tourism, employ lots of people, stimulate other business growth, and pay taxes. The tax funds could be used to improve whatever the county felt needed to be. The issue was the outgrowth of an effort by the state’s least successful casino. The casino operators proposed moving their license to a more populated area than its current location. Lawmakers almost bought the proposal, but opted instead to put the issue on the ballot. There was no Tom Osborne, but the opponents used an age-old argument: Casinos are corrupting, bring crime, and steal food money from babies and old ladies. Sixty percent of the voters opposed bringing a casino to their county.
Voters in locations in Virginia declined to expand gaming, too. There were two measures to permit satellite operations for pari-mutule wagering. Both lost. Neither was really about betting on horse races; they were about historic horse racing machines, slot machines masquerading as something else. Churchill Downs operates eight Rosie’s in Virginia. If the measures had passed, Churchill Downs would have added two more Rosie’s to its portfolio. It has 4,690 units in Virginia currently; in October, they generated $47 million in gross gaming revenue.
That is the negative side of the ledger.
On the positive side, several states elected pro-gaming governors or in some cases simply did not reelect anti-gaming governors. Texas leads the list, voting out both the governor and the lieutenant governor. Governor Greg Abbot was not a proponent of gambling. But his lieutenant governor, Dan Patrick, was a staunch opponent of gaming, fighting it in every way he could. Patrick was a guaranteed veto on any gaming bill. Whether the change in leadership will produce legalized gambling in Texas is still a question. The House of Representative now has a Democrat majority; however, the state Senate remains under Republican control.
The question in Texas is more one of a stance on gambling than party affiliation. Maybe there are enough votes to carry pro-gaming legislation and maybe not. It is not clear cut. Two bills have been filed that would put the issue to the voters. And some high-profile Texans are speaking in favor of the idea, including Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones. Wynn Resorts, Penn Entertainment, Golden Nugget, and Las Vegas Sands have expressed interest and will be putting up some money to support casino legislation. FanDuel and DraftKings are guaranteed to be in Texas pushing for legalized mobile sports wagering. There is certain to be much discussion and lobbying. By any measure, Texas is underserved in gaming. Whether that is a good or bad thing is a matter of personal choice.
Two other states are in the same boat as Texas, with anti-gambling officials replaced by pro or neutral ones. Ohio has been the target of igaming expansion for a while. Mobile sports betting in Ohio is huge; the state usually ranks third in the country after New York and New Jersey in betting handle. Igaming in Ohio would outrank Michigan, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania, as it has the largest population, nearly 12 million. With that population base, igaming in Ohio would generate something in the $400 million range monthly; pick a tax rate and you can predict the revenue Ohio would collect. Whether or not that is enough of an argument to pass igaming legislation will be a big question for 2027.
Finally, Georgia has a new governor, Keisha Lance Bottoms, who would like to legalize casino gambling to fund an education imitative. She probably stands the best chance; Bottoms is the first woman elected governor of Georgia; she is also the first black governor. Bottoms wants the voters to decide. Therein lies the rub. If the past election is any indication, gaming does not do well at the polls. The reasons are not clear, but the sentiment is crystal clear. Regardless of how she dressed, Lady Luck did not do well in November.
