Segerblom, a Democrat and chair of the state Judiciary Committee, makes a financial argument, too. “Any time people make a bet, Nevada makes money,” he says. However, as Schwartz points out, the additional revenue for this type of betting would likely be the equivalent of adding some new slot machines at Treasure Island. Nevada’s wins from sports betting is about 1% of the total in a given year–$170 million of $10.9 billion in 2012—and Schwartz predicts betting on elections would be a “tiny” subset of that 1%. “We’re not talking about anything approaching even an average NFL Sunday,” he says. Segerblom admits that political bets wouldn’t exactly “fund the state budget.”
The more central upside for Nevada may actually be the novelty factor, the fact that passing this bill would expand this list of things people are only allowed to do in Las Vegas. “It adds a little cache to Nevada because of all the gambling opportunities that are out there now.” Segerblom says. “It never hurts to remind people that we’re the capital of gaming.” He dismisses concerns that politicians could throw elections, saying that bettors watch such markets too closely for shenanigans to get by everyone.
The bill must first pass a committee vote, before being assessed by the legislature’s two chambers and the Governor. Segerblom says the most important approval will come from the industry itself: phone calls from the bigwigs at Caesar’s Palace and the MGM Grand, who have not yet weighed in on the wisdom of his proposal.
Left unstated is the potential psychological impact for voters that would come from making money from democratic participation. “It speaks to the development of politics as a spectator sport. It’s almost the way people would follow their favorite teams,” says Schwartz. “They seem to be picking sides … as opposed to soberly evaluating candidates and their platforms.”