1. Nebraska Poker Events
2. Nebraska Poker Rules
3. Nebraska Poker Chips
4. Nebraska Poker Chips
5. Nebraska Poker Tournaments

Nebraska’s laws do not specifically say if online poker is legal in Nebraska or illegal. Horse racing has long been popular in Nebraska, which led to the establishment of the Nebraska State Racing Commission in 1935. The pari-mutuel wagering and horse racing industries were important enough to warrant an agency to oversee it and establish regulations for it.

The state lottery was approved by voters in 1992, which led to the creation of the Nebraska Lottery the following year. Scratch-off tickets and lotto tickets remain one of the few ways to gambling legally in Nebraska. Some bingo games and raffles are legal as well.

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When the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act passed Congress in 1988, it allowed the Native American tribes of Nebraska to work with the state legislature on the issue of gambling. Three tribes now have compacts with the state to operate casinos: Winnebago Tribe of Nebraska, Omaha Tribe of Nebraska, and Santee Sioux Nation of Nebraska. The casinos are allowed to offer slot machines but no table games like poker.

Latest Developments Regarding Online Poker in Nebraska

Since the 1990s when the lottery was legalized and Native American-run casinos were agreed upon and opened, there has been little in the way of furthering or expanding gambling.

The closest that legislators in Nebraska have come is to debate a daily fantasy sports bill. It was introduced in 2017 and didn’t advance very far, so the bill carried over to 2018 and did move into debate mode early in the year. It has yet to pass, however. And if it does, it is very unlikely to have any effect on the potential for sports betting or online poker or casino games of any kind.

Nebraska Laws Pertinent to Online Poker

Chapter 9 of the Nebraska Code deals with regulations for games like bingo and raffles, but Chapter 28 – Crimes and Punishments– handles gambling in general.

In terms of definitions, the first pertinent section notes:

“A person advances gambling activity if, acting other than a player, he or she engages in conduct that materially aids any form of gambling activity.” Further, it includes conduct such as the “creation or establishment of the particular game, contest, scheme, device, or activity involved.”

Nebraska Poker Events

The law also states that

“a person profits from gambling activity if, other than as a player, he or she accepts or receives money or other property pursuant to an agreement or understanding with any person whereby he or she participates or is to participate in the proceeds of a gambling activity.”

And as for players, it includes anyone who “bets something of value upon the outcome of a future event, which outcome is determined by an element of chance, or upon the outcome of a game.”

Gambling devices are defined as

“any device, machine, paraphernalia, writing, paper, instrument, article, or equipment that is used or usable for engaging in gambling, whether that activity consists of gambling between persons or gambling by a person involving the playing of a machine.”

This does include a “computer gaming device.”

There are penalties for promoting gambling based on the severity of the offense.

• Knowingly advancing or profiting from unlawful gambling activity by receiving $1,500 or more of wagers in one day: Class I misdemeanor
• Knowingly advancing or profiting from unlawful gambling activity by receiving less than $1,500 of wagers in one day: Class II misdemeanor
• Knowingly advancing or profiting from unlawful gambling activity by knowingly participating as a player by betting less than $500 in one day: Class IV misdemeanor

While players are rarely, if ever, prosecuted for simply a player, the law states that a defendant’s status as a player does qualify as an affirmative defense.

On the other hand, the law also says that jurisdiction is not a valid defense. Specifically, “It shall be no defense to a prosecution under any provision of this article relating to gambling that the gambling is conducted outside this state and is not in violation of the laws of the jurisdiction in which it is conducted.” This likely applies to any online poker operator who claims offshore jurisdiction.

On the Nebraska Gaming Commission’s website, there is an FAQ section that addresses a few questions. A question regarding gambling states that there is no legal gambling in the state. When asked about keno, bingo, lottery, etc., the official state answer is:

“According to Nebraska law, those are not legally games of chance, therefore they do not qualify as gambling.”

Disclaimer: This is not written by an attorney and is not or should not be construed as legal advice. Please consult an attorney for help interpreting these laws as they pertain to any given situation.

Frequently Asked Questions

Question: Has any poker operator ever been prosecuted by Nebraska authorities?

Answer: No. This is something that Nebraska likely doesn’t want to pursue on its own. Should other states set a precedent or should the federal government take a stand at any point in the future, there is a chance that a prosecutor could seek arrests. Even so, it is unlikely and would not involve players.

Question: What kinds of poker sites operate in Nebraska?

Answer: No poker operators are based in Nebraska, but there are a number of other recommended sites that welcome players from Nebraska. Sites like Bovada, Ignition Poker, and Intertops have catered to Nebraska poker players for years.

Question: Will Nebraska banks process credit card deposits?

Answer: Every bank has different rules about processing online payments to gambling sites. Most banks do not object to legal transactions, but some banks will flag the site operators by name and refuse to process the transactions. If a player has a credit card connected to a bank that won’t process a deposit, there are other options listed on each site.

Nebraska Gaming Resources

Nebraska is said by many to prohibit all forms of gambling not authorized by law. This is the case in many states, where there are laws prohibiting gambling generally and then they may have provisions which authorize or regulate certain forms of gambling which are exempt from the prevailing general prohibitions.

If you look at the section on the official Nebraska state website, in a FAQ section on the legality of gambling in Nebraska, this is exactly the view that is expressed, that only certain forms of gambling are legal, and those are the ones set forth in the law as allowable. (1)

So it’s not difficult to see how some people may think that it is illegal to gamble in Nebraska outside these specific provisions, such as betting at a licensed establishment or playing the lottery.

However, as we will see as we take a close look at the law, things are not always as they appear.

Nebraska does have a specific definition of gambling and let’s start by having a look at that:

“A person engages in gambling if he or she bets something of value upon the outcome of a future event, which outcome is determined by an element of chance, or upon the outcome of a game, contest, or election, or conducts or participates in any bingo, lottery by the sale of pickle cards, lottery, raffle, gift enterprise, or other scheme not authorized or conducted in accordance with the Nebraska Bingo Act, the Nebraska County and City Lottery Act, the Nebraska Lottery and Raffle Act, the Nebraska Pickle Lottery Act, the Nebraska Small Lottery and Raffle Act, the State Lottery act, or section 9-701…” (2)

The section goes on to specify more exemptions, but wagering on the game of poker is definitely included in the definition of gambling in Nebraska.

Does This Mean Gambling Is Illegal In Nebraska?

Just because something is determined to be gambling doesn’t mean that it is illegal, and we require a law stating that gambling is illegal, or certain forms are, for that to be the case.

So is gambling illegal in Nebraska? Perhaps surprisingly, there are no prohibitions against gambling itself in Nebraska. So why do they bother to define it? Well it does need to be defined to determine whether the actual prohibitions against gambling would apply to a given situation.

Here are the actual prohibitions against gambling under Nebraska Law:

28.1102, Promoting gambling, first degree
28.1103, Promoting gambling, second degree
28.1104, Promoting gambling, third degree
28.1105, Possession of gambling records
28.1105.01, Gambling debt collection
28.1107, Possession of a gambling device (3)

Do any of these apply to gambling itself? Well for the first 3, “a person advances gambling activity if, acting other than a player, he or she engages in conduct that materially aids any form of gambling activity.” (4) So that doesn’t apply to players.

What about possession of gambling records? The law states that “a person commit’s the offense of possession of gambling records if, other than as a player, he or she knowingly possesses any writing, paper, instrument, or article…” (5)

Once again, this reads other than as a player, so it doesn’t apply to players either, obviously.

What about gambling debt collection? Well this can apply to players, providing “he or she provides any force or intimidation in order to collect any debt which results from gambling…” (6) This doesn’t address the act of gambling at all either.

Finally, we have the crime of possession of a gambling device. In order for a device to be classified as a gambling device, it would have to be a device whose sole or main purpose would be to be used for gambling purposes. A computer or a deck of cards would not be considered gambling devices because they have other uses, you can use cards for non gambling purposes, and you can certainly use computers for non gambling purposes.

Since this law simply addresses the possession of such a device, it could not be successfully argued that, for instance, since computers can be used for gambling, everyone who possesses a computer is guilty of possessing a gambling device.

Nebraska Poker Rules

Playing Poker In Nebraska

So playing poker for money or any other form of gambling isn’t against the law at all in Nebraska, however promoting gambling clearly is. What about home games? Well promoting gambling involves making a profit from the game, so as long as it just consisted of players, as these games generally do, then that wouldn’t qualify as promoting gambling.

As far as playing online goes, well once again the mere act of acting as a player in a gambling situation isn’t prohibited by law, so this would include all forms of gambling in Nebraska including playing poker for money on the internet. While the law in some states is somewhat unclear, there is no reading of the law in Nebraska that would even suggest this would be in any way against the law.

Nebraska also has regulated poker, although there is only a single poker room in the state, the Rosebud Casino in Valentine, with 3 tables. (7).

Players are able to access all of the online poker sites outside state jurisdiction who offer poker play to its residents, who would be in violation of Nebraska law if they were located in Nebraska, which they are not, they are located in other countries in fact. These poker rooms do restrict players in several states, but none have any issues with accepting players from Nebraska.

Among these offshore poker sites are our top 2 recommendations for players from Nebraska, which are Ignition Poker(<< review) and Americas Cardroom (<< review). Both of these poker rooms are very well established and have been successfully offering great online poker to residents from Nebraska and other select U.S. states for a number of years now.

So if you haven’t tried out one or both of these, feel free to check out our reviews of them by clicking on our links and finding out more.

Nebraska Poker Chips

References:

(1) Frequently Asked Questions About Gambling In Nebraska

(2) Nebraska Revised Statutes, 28-1101

(3) Nebraska Revised Statutes, Chapter 28

(4) Nebraska Revised Statutes, 28.1101

(5) Nebraska Revised Statutes, 28.1105

(6) Nebraska Revised Statutes, 28.1105.01

(7) Rosebud Casino

Nebraska Poker Chips

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Nebraska Poker Tournaments

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