Legal sports betting is only just getting underway in Nebraska after years of prep work, but new data suggests residents would be very interested in their state adding a mobile option as well.
Nebraska sports betting is only legal in person at one of the state’s racinos, the first of which began accepting action on Thursday. Yet GeoComply Solutions Inc. says it processed more than 1.56 million geolocation checks from Nebraska-based devices trying to access online sports betting sites in other states from January 1 to June 20.
The Vancouver-based technology company, which helps mobile bookmakers determine the location of bettors, blocked those devices from placing wagers. A majority of interactions were aimed at digital bookmakers in Iowa, with GeoComply saying 78.1% of the geolocation checks were attempts to log on to sites in the nearby Hawkeye State, where online wagering is legal.
GeoComply also told Covers that it identified almost 43,500 accounts for mobile sports betting apps and sites in Nebraska.
“The [Nebraska] data is rather remarkable for a population base of just over 1.9 million people,” said John Pappas, senior vice president of government and public affairs at GeoComply. “For instance, we saw similar numbers for North Carolina, which is four times the size.”
With sports betting now underway in Nebraska in a limited fashion, I wanted to share data from @GeoComply, which suggests strong demand for online wagering as well. GC says it processed more than 1.56M geolocation checks from NE devices this year, and blocked them from betting: pic.twitter.com/pU29iwSLdk
— Geoff Zochodne (@GeoffZochodne) June 22, 2023
Still, by law, sports betting in Nebraska is restricted to wagering in person and at kiosks at a licensed racetrack. The WarHorse Lincoln became the first facility in the state to offer sports gaming on Thursday, as the racino opened its brick-and-mortar book at around 3:00 p.m. local time.
The opening came after then-Gov. Pete Ricketts signed sports betting-related legislation into law in May 2021, which followed Nebraska voters approving casino-type gambling at licensed racetracks in 2020. Regulations for the retail-only style of sports betting in the state were approved in the fall of 2022.
The FIRST bet in Nebraska history is in! ?????????????????? pic.twitter.com/Im0GCLQNYC
— WarHorse Lincoln (@WarHorseLincoln) June 22, 2023
Beyond the requirement to travel to a physical location, other restrictions may grate on Nebraska bettors. While most sports are fair game, the state does not allow wagering on events involving Nebraska colleges, meaning the Cornhuskers are off-limits to local punters.
Nebraska lawmakers haven't done much else concerning sports betting since passing the authorization legislation in 2021. But if they do, they might find fairly robust demand for mobile wagering.
“It’s clear to me that Nebraskans are eager for legal sports betting and retail is a good first step,” Pappas said in an email. “Nevertheless, I still expect people will continue to cross the border from Omaha into Iowa to easily place mobile bets.”
