Nebraska voters have rejected two ballot initiatives that would have legalized and regulated online sports betting, meaning that wagering in the state will remain limited to in-person bets at its five brick-and-mortar casinos.
Unofficial election returns show Initiative 440, a constitutional amendment to authorize online sports gambling, failed 55% to 45%.
Initiative 441, which proposed a regulatory framework and tax structure for mobile sports wagering, lost 54.5% to 45.5%.
Both measures had to pass for online sports betting to become legal. Decision Desk HQ called both races at 3:25 a.m. on November 4.
The result ends a more than $22 million campaign by Tax Relief Nebraska, a coalition backed by state casinos and online sports betting groups.
The coalition turned to a petition drive after years of resistance in the Nebraska Legislature. FanDuel and DraftKings spent more than $20 million to push for the initiatives, and WarHorse Casino supported their effort.
A tax relief pitch that failed to persuade
Proponents had hoped to launch mobile betting apps by spring. They argued that the measures would capture revenue from Nebraskans who already bet illegally or cross state lines, and that the proceeds would go toward property tax relief.
The campaign promised $166 million in tax relief after 10 years. Under the wording of both initiatives, online operators would also have been required to partner with an existing casino.
Opponents, including Gambling with the Good Life and the Open Door Mission, campaigned against the spread of gambling to phones. They raised concerns about addiction risks for young people and questioned whether meaningful tax relief would materialize.
According to the Nebraska Family Alliance, Nebraskans would have to lose $830 million to out-of-state online gambling companies before the state could collect that revenue.
Reelected Sen. Pete Ricketts addressed the outcome during remarks at Rep. Mike Flood’s victory celebration at the Nebraska Republican Party headquarters.
“We were being sold a bill of goods about the online sports betting,” Ricketts said. “We were not going to get property tax relief. That was a lie. Nebraska saw right through it and that’s why those ballot issues went down.”
Support concentrated along the Iowa border
The initiatives drew their strongest backing along the Missouri River, which forms Nebraska’s eastern border with Iowa.
Voters in Dakota and Thurston counties favored the measures by 15 and 14 points, respectively. Beyond the river counties, the “Yes” side found little support outside Omaha’s Douglas and Sarpy counties.
In Douglas County, however, the initiatives led by just three points. Lancaster County, home to Lincoln and the state’s flagship university, voted “No” by 17 points. Lincoln already hosts WarHorse Casino and sits 50 miles inland from the river. Western Nebraska rejected both measures entirely.
Casino operator warns of unregulated competition
Lance Morgan, CEO of WarHorse Casino, said he was disappointed with the outcome and believes voters based their decision on property taxes.
“I think people felt like they’re not going to get enough property tax relief to really make much of a difference,” Morgan said.
Morgan said the decision could leave Nebraska exposed to prediction market companies that regulators say offer products similar to sports gambling. If illegal companies create apps similar to DraftKings or FanDuel and target Nebraska, he said, the state will be unable to control or regulate them.
“A lot of the people who were against it thought they were protecting Nebraskans from mobile sports betting companies, but really what they’ve done is they’ve left them vulnerable to prediction market companies, or in Nebraska won’t get any tax and have no say in how they’re run from a regulatory standpoint,” Morgan said. “It’s a little like protecting somebody by throwing them to the wolves.”
Both camps commit to the next round
Grasz called the result a victory over commercial interests.
“Nebraskans stood up to powerful gambling corporations with seemingly limitless resources and refused to let them buy their way into our state,” he said in a statement. He also said voters “chose to protect kids, families, and student athletes from predatory online gambling.”
WarHorse Casino said it will continue its gambling efforts, while the Nebraska Family Alliance and Gambling with the Good Life said they will keep fighting the spread of gambling. Gov. Jim Pillen, who has supported expanded gambling in the state, won reelection by 8.5 points, 12 points less than his 2022 margin.
In-person retail sports betting remains legal at licensed racetrack casinos following voters’ approval of casino gaming in 2020. Nebraskans who want to bet online, however, must still leave the state, and many regularly travel to Iowa and Colorado to do so. Residents of rural areas face a drive to Wyoming or Colorado.