Barring unforeseen legislative changes, online sports betting won’t be coming to Nebraska in 2024.
A coalition made up of sportsbook operators FanDuel, DraftKings, Caesars, and BetMGM declined to financially back a ballot initiative to bring mobile wagering to the Cornhusker State, according to a Lincoln Journal Star report.
The petition drive is needed to get a constitutional amendment vote in front of Nebraska residents by the fall that could get those online operators in the Cornhusker State.
The decision was made after a coalition-commissioned poll showed in February that 57% of responding Nebraskans were in favor of the amendment. That wasn’t a high enough percentage to invest the $5 million to $7 million it would take for the petition drive.
“If you’re at 57, it creates some possibility that you could lose unless you really were to put substantial resources into it,” Ho-Chunk CEO Lance Morgan told the Journal Star. “It doesn’t make any sense to go to war unless you have a war chest lined up.”
Bad timing
Nebraska’s small population and the late timing in the voting cycle led to the decision to not pony up big dollars and fight the anti-gambling groups in the Cornhusker State.
The pro-sports betting coalition partnered with WarHorse Gaming’s parent company Ho-Chunk Inc., the economic development division of the Winnebago Tribe of Nebraska.
The group would’ve needed roughly 122,000 signees to the highly expensive, labor-intensive petition to complete the ballot initiative.
Morgan told the Journal Star that the sportsbooks likely have their sites and spending set on more lucrative markets.
What’s next?
Legalizing in-person retail sports betting at casinos was passed by voters in 2021, but the online form continues to be a struggle.
The Nebraska legislature could bypass the need for the constitutional amendment by legalizing sports betting in Nebraska, but it hasn’t shown much interest in doing so, despite Ho-Chunk’s persistence.
It’s unlikely that will change this year or next, and 2026 is the earliest that a pro-sports betting coalition would look to fund a petition to get it on the ballot.
For the time being, Nebraskans will have to visit WarHorse Casino in Lincoln or at the gaming company’s temporary Omaha site, where a full casino is set to open later this year.
Neighboring states Colorado, Iowa, and Kansas offer legal online sports betting.
