Without constitutional authorization, however, those laws could not be implemented, even if they made the ballot and were approved by voters.

“I won’t say it’s highly likely, but it looks probable that there will be the same problem with them,” Gale said.

Scott Lautenbaugh, a former state senator from Omaha and a spokesman for the pro-gambling group, said he was disappointed but could not say why the rejection rate was so high until he got more information.

“We’re going to review what they did and decide what to do next,” he said.

Lance Morgan, head of Ho-Chunk Inc., the economic development arm of the Winnebago Tribe of Nebraska, said he is seeking information from the company hired to collect signatures about the “ridiculously high” error rate. “We don’t plan to give up,” he said. “The people we talk to think it’s about time Nebraska allowed casino gambling.”

The most recent campaign finance report showed that all but $33,000 of the $1.3 million spent on the petition drive came from Ho-Chunk.

Lautenbaugh said one of the reasons the effort was hampered was because of its complexity: Circulators had to carry three petitions instead of one.