Legislation

Winnebago Tribe's corporation turns in signatures for gaming vote

Thursday, July 7, 2016

Ho-Chunk Inc.., the economic development corporation of the Winnebago Tribe, owns the site of the former Atokad Downs in South Sioux City, Nebraska, and operates it as Atokad Park. Image from Google Maps

A group backed by Ho-Chunk Inc., the economic development arm of the Winnebago Tribe, has turned in signatures in hopes of putting a series of gaming initiatives on the November ballot.

Keep the Money in Nebraska collected 310,000 signatures, The Omaha World-Herald reported. That's more than enough to quality for the ballot but the Secretary of State will now verify the petition.

“Now we have to get through the verification process and any legal challenge there and we will set about convincing the voters. It will be like a conventional campaign at that point," spokesperson Scott Lautenbaugh, a former state lawmaker, told The Lincoln Journal Star.

If voters approve the ballot measures, racetracks with existing licenses will be able to offer games of chance. Ho-Chunk Inc. owns the South Sioux City Racing and Events Center, a licensed track.

Approval could also lead to expanded gaming in Indian Country and maybe even Class III gaming compacts. Under the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act, tribes can engage in the same types of games that are permitted in a state.

“You have to ask yourself, ‘Why did the Indians put up a million dollars?’" Pat Loontjer, the director of the anti-casino group Gambling With the Good Life, told The Journal Star. "Not because they like horses. Get real. They put it up because they know once we change our Constitution we will have unlimited Indian casinos and slots parlors all over the state."

Class III gaming is legal in various forms in all of Nebraska's neighboring states: Colorado, Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, South Dakota and Wyoming.

Ho-Chunk Inc. owns Indianz.Com but the website is not involved in the corporation's activities.

Get the Story:
Nebraska gambling supporters move one step closer to seeing issue on November ballot (The Omaha World-Herald 7/7)
Pro-casino group says it has enough signatures to get gambling on the ballot (The Lincoln Journal Star 7/7)