- Nebraska legalized in-person sports betting in 2021, but not online wagering
- Voters could seek a constitutional amendment for the 2026 ballot
- Earlier legislation failed to advance past the senate this year
Nebraska online sports betting could be coming to the state ballot in 2026 as part of a constitutional amendment if supporters have their say.
An earlier bill in 2025 failed to gain the required votes needed, and will carry over to next year’s legislative session. Therefore, proponents, including the CEO of WarHorse Casinos, are considering a push to collect the required votes needed to put online sports betting to a state vote.
Petition Drive Could Start This Year
In order to put online sports betting on a 2026 ballot, a referendum vote is required, in lieu of passing formal legislation.
To do so, supporters will need to gather at least 10% of the state’s registered voting support. That currently stands at just under 126,00 votes (125,786), with a signature petition drive possibly upcoming later in 2025.
Lynne McNally, CEO of WarHorse Casinos, is one of the biggest supporters of allowing online sports betting in Nebraska.
“The bottom line is, you’re allowing tax money to go to Iowa, Kansas, Colorado, just like with the casinos. People are using VPNs, and they’re disguising their location, pretending they’re in Iowa,” said McNally.
“The bottom line is, you’re allowing tax money to go to Iowa, Kansas, Colorado, just like with the casinos. People are using VPNs, and they’re disguising their location, pretending they’re in Iowa.” — Lynne McNally, CEO of WarHorse Casinos
Previous Legislation Falls Short
While Nebraska sports betting was legalized in 2021 and launched at retail casinos in 2023, Nebraska has been opposed to expanding the laws to include online betting. Regulations also prohibit betting on local college teams when playing at home, like the Nebraska Cornhuskers. Attempts to legalize online wagering have failed to gain the necessary votes in previous years, including in 2024 and 2025.
In March, Sen. Eliot Bostar proposed Bill LR20CA to legalize online betting through a constitutional amendment. While the bill passed an initial vote in the Senate General Affairs Committee, it was blocked by a filibuster in the second round.
Nebraska bills require a two-thirds majority vote on three separate occasions before being forwarded to the governor’s office for a signature. Gov. Jim Pillen has previously stated he’s against gambling, but also wouldn’t stand in the way.
“I don’t like sports betting, but the hardcore reality is whoever wants to do online sports betting in Nebraska is doing it and we’re giving it (revenue) to our neighbors,” said Pillen in 2024.
“I don’t like sports betting, but the hardcore reality is whoever wants to do online sports betting in Nebraska is doing it and we’re giving it (revenue) to our neighbors.” — Jim Pillen, Gov. of Nebraska
He added, on potential future legalization:
“I’m an advocate.. I won’t stand in the way. Anybody who takes that, I’ll support it.”
Online sports betting, is estimated by Bostar to have the potential to add $32 million in tax revenues over the next couple of years. Some of those funds have been proposed to help in property tax relief. In 2024, Bostar stated that polling numbers showed 65% of Nebraskans were in favor of online betting if the revenues went towards property tax relief.
Click to Contact Ryan
You must be logged in to comment. Don't have an account? Sign up today.