Starting in the 1880s, Omaha's Irish crime lord and political boss Tom Dennison created a powerful political machine that controlled all gambling, liquor and prostitution schemes in Omaha for almost 50 years. An 1887 law by the Nebraska State Legislature banned gambling houses in the city, driving many gamblers underground. The notorious Canada Bill Jones worked the trains from Omaha to Kansas City, Missouri in the 1870s. Dan Allen ran a gambling house, saloon and pawn shop for more than a dozen years. He was the long-time companion of Anna Wilson, the city's foremost madam for almost 40 years. Dan Allen was a pioneer gambler in Omaha who had great influence throughout the young city. In 1873, 'it seemed that ever lying, cheating, four-flushing, double-dealing, card-sharping, counterfeiting scoundrel who did not already hold high public office was setting up shop in the streets of Omaha.' The Burnt District was an early site for much of the city's illicit activity, including gambling. The city quickly became notorious for its early gambling, with an early observer remarking that, 'Omaha was known from ocean to ocean with cards, dice, or whatever you wanted to gamble with.' The city had an early history as a 'wide open' town where gambling was accepted, along with prostitution, drugs and rampant alcohol use.

19th century Īfter its founding in 1854, pioneer Omaha became the 'Gateway to the West,' as an essential stopping, restocking and 'jumping off' point for settlers, hunters and miners traveling to the Western United States.

It allowed the tribe to build a casino that opened in 2018 in Carter Lake, Iowa, which sits geographically on the west side of the Missouri River, adjacent to Omaha, where casinos are illegal.

Recently, a controversial proposal by the Ponca tribe of Nebraska was approved by the National Indian Gaming Commission. Today, gambling in Omaha is limited to keno and slot machines, leaving Omahans to drive across the Missouri River to Council Bluffs, Iowa, where casinos are legal and there are numerous gambling businesses operating. From the 1930s through the 1970s, the city's gambling was controlled by an Italian criminal element. By the mid-20th century, Omaha reportedly had more illicit gambling per capita than any other city in the nation. From its founding in the 1850s through the 1930s, the city was known as a 'wide-open' town, meaning that gambling of all sorts was accepted either openly or in closed quarters. Gambling in Omaha, Nebraska has been significant throughout the city's history.

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