§ 9-1106. Commission; powers and duties.

The commission shall: (1) License and regulate authorized gaming operators for the operation of all games of chance authorized pursuant to the Nebraska Racetrack Gaming Act, including adopting, promulgating, and enforcing rules and regulations governing such authorized gaming operators consistent with the act; (2) Regulate the operation of games of chance in order to prevent and eliminate corrupt practices and fraudulent behavior, and thereby promote integrity, security, and honest administration in, and accurate accounting of, the operation of games of chance which are subject to the act; (3) Establish criteria to license applicants for authorized gaming operator licenses and all other types of gaming licenses for other positions and functions incident to the operation of games of chance, including adopting, promulgating, and enforcing rules, regulations, and eligibility standards for such authorized gaming operator licenses, gaming licenses, and positions and functions incident to the operation of games of chance; (4) Charge fees for applications for licenses and for the issuance of authorized gaming operator licenses and all other types of gaming licenses to successful applicants which shall be payable to the commission; (5) Charge fees to authorized gaming operators in an amount necessary to offset the cost of oversight and regulatory services to be provided which shall be payable to the commission; (6) Impose a one-time authorized gaming operator license fee of five million dollars on each authorized gaming operator for each licensed racetrack enclosure payable to the commission. The license fee may be paid over a period of five years with one million dollars due at the time the license is issued and one million dollars due each year thereafter until the initial five-million-dollar license fee is paid in full; (7) Grant, deny, revoke, and suspend authorized gaming operator licenses and all other types of gaming licenses based upon reasonable criteria and procedures established by the commission to facilitate the integrity, productivity, and lawful conduct of gaming within the state; (8) Grant or deny for cause applications for authorized gaming operator licenses of not less than twenty years in duration, subject to an annual review by the commission and receipt by the commission of a fifty-thousand-dollar annual review fee, with no more than one such authorized gaming operator license granted for any licensed racetrack enclosure within the state; (9) Conduct background investigations of applicants for authorized gaming operator licenses and all other types of gaming licenses; (10) Adopt and promulgate rules and regulations for the standards of manufacture of gaming equipment; (11) Inspect the operation of any authorized gaming operator conducting games of chance for the purpose of certifying the revenue thereof and receiving complaints from the public; (12) Issue subpoenas for the attendance of witnesses or the production of any records, books, memoranda, documents, or other papers or things at or prior to any hearing as is necessary to enable the commission to effectively discharge its duties; (13) Administer oaths or affirmations as necessary to carry out the act; (14) Have the authority to impose, subject to judicial review, appropriate administrative fines and penalties for each violation of the act or any rules and regulations adopted and promulgated pursuant to the act in an amount not to exceed: (a) For any licensed racetrack enclosure with an authorized gaming operator operating games of chance for one year or less, fifty thousand dollars per violation; or (b) For any licensed racetrack enclosure with an authorized gaming operator operating games of chance for more than one year, three times the highest daily amount of gross receipts derived from wagering on games of chance during the twelve months preceding the violation at such licensed racetrack enclosure gaming facility per violation; (15) Collect and remit administrative fines and penalties collected under this section to the State Treasurer for distribution in accordance with Article VII, section 5, of the Constitution of Nebraska; (16) Adopt and promulgate rules and regulations for any gaming taxes assessed to authorized gaming operators; (17) Collect and account for any gaming taxes assessed to authorized gaming operators and remit such taxes to the State Treasurer or county treasurer as required by Nebraska law; (18) Promote treatment of gaming-related behavioral disorders; (19) Establish procedures for the governance of the commission; (20) Acquire necessary offices, facilities, counsel, and staff; (21) Establish procedures for an applicant for a staff position to disclose conflicts of interest as part of the application for employment; (22) Establish a process to allow a person to be voluntarily excluded from wagering in any game of chance under the act in accordance with section 9-1118; (23) Remit all license and application fees collected under the Nebraska Racetrack Gaming Act to the State Treasurer for credit to the Racetrack Gaming Fund; (24) Conduct or cause to be conducted a statewide horseracing market analysis to study the racing market as it currently exists across the state and within the locations in Nebraska of the racetracks in Adams, Dakota, Douglas, Hall, Lancaster, and Platte counties as of the date of the market analysis. Such market analysis shall be completed as soon as practicable but not later than January 1, 2025, and every five years thereafter and shall be submitted electronically to the General Affairs Committee of the Legislature and to the Governor. Such market analysis shall examine the market potential and make recommendations involving: (a) The number of live racing days per track, number of races run, and number of horses that should be entered per race; (b) The number of Nebraska-bred horses available in the market for running races, including foals dropped in the state for the past three years at the time of the market analysis; (c) The circuit scheduled in the state and if any overlapping dates would be beneficial to the circuit and market as a whole; (d) The total number of horses available for the total annual schedule, with separate analysis for thoroughbred races and quarterhorse races; (e) The purse money available per race and per track; (f) The strength of the potential and ongoing simulcast market; (g) The staffing patterns and problems that exist at each track, including unfilled positions; (h) The positive and negative effects, including financial, on each existing racetrack at the time of the market analysis in the event the commission approves a new racetrack application; (i) The potential to attract new owners and horses from other states; (j) The market potential for expansion at each licensed racetrack enclosure to the live race meet days and the number of live horseraces required by section 2-1205, and the room for expansion, if any, for additional licensed racetrack enclosures into the market in Nebraska and the locations most suitable for such expansion; and (k) Any other data and analysis required by the commission; (25) Conduct or cause to be conducted a statewide casino gaming market analysis study across the state and within each location of a racetrack in Adams, Dakota, Douglas, Hall, Lancaster, and Platte counties. Such market analysis study shall be completed as soon as practicable but not later than January 1, 2025, and every five years thereafter and shall be submitted electronically to the General Affairs Committee of the Legislature and to the Governor. The market analysis study shall include: (a) A comprehensive assessment of the potential casino gaming market conditions; (b) An evaluation of the effects on the Nebraska market from competitive casino gaming locations outside of the state; (c) Information identifying underperforming or underserved markets within Nebraska; (d) A comprehensive study of potential casino gaming revenue in Nebraska; and (e) Any other data and analysis required by the commission; (26) Conduct or cause to be conducted a statewide socioeconomic-impact study of horseracing and casino gaming across the state and at each licensed racetrack enclosure and gaming facility in Adams, Dakota, Douglas, Hall, Lancaster, and Platte counties. Such socioeconomic-impact study shall be completed as soon as practicable but not later than January 1, 2025, and shall be submitted electronically to the General Affairs Committee of the Legislature and to the Governor. The study shall include: (a) Information on financial and societal impacts of horseracing and casino gaming, including crime and local businesses; (b) An analysis of problem gambling within the state; and (c) A comparison of the economy of counties which contain a licensed racetrack enclosure operating games of chance and counties which do not contain such a licensed racetrack enclosure as of the date of the study, which comparison shall include: (i) The population of such counties; (ii) Jobs created by each licensed racetrack enclosure operating games of chance in such counties; (iii) Unemployment rates in such counties; (iv) Information on family and household income in such counties; (v) Retail sales in such counties; (vi) Property values in such counties; (vii) An analysis of the impact on community services, including police protection expenditures, fire protection expenditures, road, bridge, and sidewalk expenditures, and capital project expenditures in such counties; (viii) Impact on community health in such counties; (ix) Divorce rates in such counties; (x) Information on available education and education levels in such counties; (xi) Life expectancy in such counties; (xii) Homelessness in such counties; and (xiii) Any other data and analysis required by the commission; (27) Approve or deny an application for any licensed racetrack enclosure which is not in existence or operational as of April 20, 2022, or any licensed racetrack enclosure in existence and operational as of November 1, 2020, that applies to move such licensed racetrack enclosure pursuant to section 2-1205, on the basis of the placement and location of such licensed racetrack enclosure and based on the market as it exists as of the most recent issuance of the statewide horseracing market analysis, statewide casino gaming market analysis, and statewide socioeconomic-impact studies conducted by the commission pursuant to this section. The commission shall deny a licensed racetrack enclosure or gaming operator license application if it finds that approval of such application in such placement and location would be detrimental to the racing or gaming market that exists across the state based on the most recent statewide horseracing market analysis, statewide casino gaming market analysis, and statewide socioeconomic-impact studies; (28) Do all things necessary and proper to carry out its powers and duties under the Nebraska Racetrack Gaming Act, including the adoption and promulgation of rules and regulations and such other actions as permitted by the Administrative Procedure Act; (29) Recommend to the Governor and to the General Affairs Committee of the Legislature amendments to all laws administered by the commission; and (30) As appropriate and as recommended by the executive director of the commission, delegate to an adjudication subcommittee of the commission those powers and duties of the commission as necessary to carry out and effectuate the purposes of the Nebraska Racetrack Gaming Act and investigate and respond to violations of the Nebraska Racetrack Gaming Act. The adjudication subcommittee staff shall be appointed by the executive director. No person may be appointed to the adjudication subcommittee if such person is involved in the investigation of any violation being heard or investigated by the subcommittee. Any action of the adjudication subcommittee may be appealed to the commission or may be reviewed by the commission on its own initiative. The adjudication subcommittee may impose a fine, consistent with the Nebraska Racetrack Gaming Act, not to exceed fifteen thousand dollars, upon a finding that the act or any rule or regulation adopted and promulgated under the act has been violated. The commission shall remit any fines collected under this subdivision to the State Treasurer for distribution in accordance with Article VII, section 5, of the Constitution of Nebraska. History: Initiative Law 2020, No. 430, § 6; Laws 2021, LB561, § 30; Laws 2022, LB876, § 16; Laws 2023, LB775, § 13; Laws 2025, LB357, § 15.