An ongoing battle over casino gambling has led to a "state of hostility" between the states of Nebraska and Iowa.

The Omaha World-Herald reports one Nebraska lawmaker has jokingly proposed declaring war as a means of preventing its citizens from crossing the border to visit Iowa's casinos.

"The sovereign state of Nebraska declares a state of hostility with the sovereign state of Iowa until such a time as the state of Iowa ceases the unjust and relentless appropriation of the resources of the citizens of Nebraska," reads proposed text for a constitutional amendment that asks voters to approve casino gambling in Nebraska.

State Sen. Pam Brown authored the tongue-in-cheek modification to the amendment to emphasize to her colleagues the seriousness of the matter.

She later withdrew it, according to the World-Herald.

"I've been cautioned that the members of the Iowa legislature might not take it kindly," the paper quotes Brown as saying.