Nebraska’s RGC comes under fire over state’s casino taxes

Article by : Charles Perrin Oct 30, 2024

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Nebraska’s Racing and Gaming Commission has come under the microscope over its handling of the state’s casino taxes.

A report was filed by Mike Foley, Nebraska’s State Auditor, who has leveled criticism at the Commission for falling short in verifying tax information and ensuring the correct amount of money was collected after putting out an audit report.

Foley suggested that the Commission’s oversight was “lackluster”, and even at times, “non-existent”.

The audit report specifically scrutinized the most recent fiscal year up until June 30, as casino gambling was deemed legal at Nebraska’s horse racetracks. 4 licensed casinos combined to haul in $20 million in tax money which went directly to property tax credits.

However, a bone of contention was how the taxes were reported and the mismatches that occurred in the filing of them.

For example, WarHorse Casino in Lincoln paid out $279,064 less in taxes while Harrah’s in Colombus overpaid $76,184.

Foley believes the Commission didn’t do enough to resolve the differences before the auditor’s office carried out its own investigation.

The report has suggested that Commission members did not give strong enough reasons about the taxes from casinos, which raised suspicion that the Commission was capable of figuring out the right tax amounts.

More stringent measures are being looked at to ensure the safeguarding of the transfer of taxes, including passing responsibility for the collection to the auditor’s office.

Casey Ricketts, who works as the director of the Nebraska Racing and Gaming Commission, admitted the agency wasn’t as scrupulous as it should have been as they didn’t have enough staff.

The audit also uncovered cases where Commission employees misused state vehicles.

In the meantime anyway, the Nebraska Racing Gaming Commission needs to get its house in order if it is to regain the trust of the state auditor.