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It was a historic midterm election with Democrats unleashing a “blue tsunami” across the electorate. That was the headline at most news sites, but in the hoopla, we forget how many individual issues also got voted on this November.
One of those is the expansion of legal sports betting. It was indirectly on the ballot in some states who voted new governors and senators, who have thoughts on the issue (we’re looking at you, Texas).
But in Nebraska, it was directly on the ballot, not once, but twice. Voters in the Cornhusker State decided whether sports betting apps would enter the state, as it already has legal sports betting, but only in-person. Both measures were defeated in close fashion. Keep on reading and we’ll tell you how it all went down, and what the future could hold.
Two Measures, Two No Votes
Let’s start with why Nebraska had to vote on this thing twice. Say you’re in Omaha and want to do NFL betting from your couch. Initiative 440 was the one that would’ve changed the Nebraska Constitution to let the state’s racetrack casinos take that bet. Initiative 441 was the one that spelled out how they’d do it — up to two sports betting apps per casino, 12 statewide, with the revenue taxed much like it already is at the casino itself. So if you wanted mobile betting, you needed two yeses. But in the end, neither passed.
With 100 percent of precincts reporting, Initiative 441 was defeated by 54.5 percent to 45.5 percent, while Initiative 440 lost by a similar margin of 54.9 percent to 45.1 percent, according to the Nebraska Secretary of State’s official election results. The real nail-biter was around Omaha, where Douglas and Sarpy counties each voted 52–48 in favor of 441. Had Lincoln followed their lead, supporters might’ve had a more interesting election night. Instead, Lancaster County went 58–42 against it. The two cities where WarHorse already runs casinos couldn’t even agree on letting those casinos take bets online.
The Bitter Fight Leading Up To The Vote
You can tell a lot about how supporters thought they’d win this thing by the name they picked for their campaign: Tax Relief Nebraska. Legitimately, that’s what the organizing group called themselves.
Funding this group were the top-two sportsbook operators, DraftKings and FanDuel. The duo poured $10.4 million apiece into the campaign. As the name hints, they pitched it as a way to reduce property taxes, with the new tax on mobile sports betting picking up the tab instead.
It was a smart pitch. Nebraska already takes 20 percent of casino gaming revenue in taxes, and 70 percent of that tax money goes toward property-tax relief. The same split would’ve applied to online sports betting. And c’mon, who in this world doesn’t want to pay less on the property they already own?
But alas, there was strong opposition to it. And by strong, we mean Nebraska football legend: Tom Osborne. He’s arguably the most popular man in the state and was the frontman for the Save Nebraska Sports. That group also included bigwigs like State Auditor Mike Foley and Treasurer Joey Spellerberg. The opposition group said it was outspent 20-1 so it needed all the influence it could get, and Osborne is as big as it gets.
Their main argument? More sports betting would corrupt the state’s sports. Game manipulation, nonstop gambling ads, and harassment of athletes over losing bets. On top of the usual problem gaming issues it brings for users, by the way.
Things got so heated at one point that a candidate who wasn’t on either betting initiative lost three endorsements over them. On October 27, Tax Relief Nebraska gave $750,000 to Republican legislative candidate Tim Anderson, paying for pro-betting ads that ran under his name. Sen. Pete Ricketts, Foley, and Spellerberg all pulled their endorsements in the aftermath.
What’s Next For Nebraska?
The irony in this is that come Saturday, an Omaha bettor can still walk into WarHorse and put money on their beloved Cornhuskers football team. It’s been that way for years.
But… they also have online options. For one, offshore sportsbooks work just fine. But two, prediction markets are fully accessible inside the state. For people who want to bet online, they’ll be able to do it just fine.
The only thing is the state of Nebraska won’t benefit from it at all. Neither will homeowners. Any money made from betting online will go straight to the platforms — and far, far away from Nebraska’s tax coffers. Those aren’t our words, by the way, the sentiment came straight from Lynne McNally, director of government relations for WarHorse Casino
“I’m disappointed for the state of Nebraska,” she said after the elections. “Online betting is happening right now, all over the state. Nebraska is just losing out on tax revenue… that’s a real loss for the state of Nebraska.”
But… given how close the voting margins were, we don’t expect pro-legalization groups to go quietly into the night. DraftKings and FanDuel have deep pockets to make a second run at this in 2028. Two years is plenty of time to turn a few thousand no voters into yes.
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