The NCAA Men’s College World Series is being held this year in Omaha, Nebraska, as it has been every year since 1950, but this year, many spectators have crossed state lines to place bets on the games.
While sports betting isn’t legal in Nebraska, most of the college teams playing in the CWS represent schools from states that have legal college sports betting.
Nebraska has not legalized sports betting, but it is surrounded by states that have, including Kansas, Colorado, Wyoming, and Iowa. Most relevant for fans traveling to Omaha for the College Baseball World Series, the Iowa border is only a short walk away from Charles Schwab Stadium.
“We've walked to the bridge a few times where it's legal there, but yeah we've just been betting on our phones,” Matt Borge, a fan from Texas, said to NewsNow Omaha.
“Yeah, we have friends that it's easier for them to place it so like you can just text them,” another fan from Texas, Connor Core, said.
The large number of fans crossing the border to place bets has not just been an issue during the College World Series. People in Nebraska crossed the border and placed bets 18,000 times during the NFL season, according to data from Ho-chunk Inc.
Podcast host Jeremy Johnson, also known as XFL Jim, has warned that there are other ways for sports bettors in Nebraska to gamble.
“People will gamble no matter what, that was the whole point of getting casinos there in the first place, now it's just the next step is letting people sports bet. It's one of the largest revenue system you can probably generate for a casino so many people want to do it and people will find a way, whether Nebraska takes in the money or not,” said Johnson.
