Nebraska Voters Will Consider Online Sports Betting After Petition Drives Succeed
Questions on constitutional amendment, regulations to appear on Nov. 3 ballot.
Election Day is less than 10 weeks away, and when Nebraska voters go to the polls, they will be asked – twice – whether they want online sports betting in their state.
The office of Nebraska Secretary of State Robert B. Evnen announced late last week that supporters collected enough signatures to put the questions on the Nov. 3 ballot.
Nebraska legalized sports betting five years ago, but lawmakers in the Cornhusker State limited it to in-person wagering at state-licensed casinos at racetracks.
While several other states have used ballot measures to legalize online sports betting, Nebraska would be the first to do so since the Commodity Futures Trading Commission allowed federally regulated prediction markets offer contracts on sporting events more than 18 months ago. Several states have filed suit against Kalshi and other operators, seeking to prevent them from accepting trades on sporting events as state officials argue that violates their gaming laws.
Nebraska is not among the states that have sued. However, Attorney General Mike Hilgers joined 40 other attorneys general earlier this year in signing a letter to CFTC Chair Michael Selig arguing that the federal regulator cannot oversee such contracts.
Voters Approved Casinos Six Years Ago
Similar to the casino push, Nebraskans will decide whether to approve both a constitutional amendment permitting online sports betting and a measure that would revise state gaming laws to include online sports betting and require the Racing and Gaming Commission to establish rules for regulating the activity.
Voters approved three measures to allow casino gambling in November 2020, with all three garnering at least 65% support.
FanDuel, DraftKings Primarily Fund Nebraska Campaign
Not surprisingly, the backers of Nebraska online sports betting are funded by the industry’s largest operators.
According to records from the Nebraska Accountability and Disclosure Commission, Tax Relief Nebraska, the committee established to lead the petition drive and promote the ballot questions, has received $7.4 million in contributions during the current election cycle.
More than $5.1 million has already been spent as proponents collected more than 235,000 valid signatures across the state’s 93 counties. Proponents began taking signatures on the online sports betting petitions back in January and delivered them to Enven’s office for review in late June, beating the July 2 submission deadline.
Four sports betting operators account for all of that funding, with DraftKings and FanDuel providing more than $3.5 million apiece. BetMGM has contributed $250,000, while Fanatics has given $75,000.
Of the four operators, DraftKings, Fanatics, and FanDuel also operate prediction markets. All three currently handle trades for sports contracts in Nebraska.
Sources have told Gambling Insider that it’s too early to determine if any of those three will block sports markets in Nebraska ahead of the initiative. None of the three allow trading on sporting events through their prediction exchange apps in states where they hold online sports betting licenses.
Fewer Than 10 Licensed Operators Likely in Nebraska
If approved, each of the state’s five casinos could partner with up to two online sports betting platforms. However, it seems unlikely that many sports betting operators would apply for licenses – at least initially.
Neighboring Missouri, the most recent state to launch online sports betting, has eight online operators. North Carolina, which launched in March 2024, has seven. Both states have significantly larger populations than Nebraska, which is the nation’s 13th smallest with slightly more than 2 million people. Wyoming and Kansas, two other Nebraska border states with online sports betting, have five and seven licensees, respectively.
In addition, the state also does not allow wagering on in-state college events that include a Nebraska school. The state’s gaming rules also prohibit prop betting on performances by a student-athlete for a Nebraska school in any game regardless of location. The regulations also bar in-game wagering on any contest involving an in-state school.
Those rules would likely curtail wagering to an extent, as the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and Creighton University in Omaha enjoy massive in-state support.
Licensed online sports betting operators would pay a 20% tax on their gross gaming revenue. That is the same rate as Nebraska’s casinos, and the state would allow licensees to deduct promotional spending.
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