5 minBusiness
Nebraska voters decide on legalizing online sports betting
Nebraskans will vote on two ballot measures that would legalize and regulate mobile sports wagering across the state, with the tax revenue as the main selling point.
Nebraska voters will decide in the midterm elections whether to legalize online sports betting, through two ballot measures that together would allow residents to place wagers on professional and college sporting events from their phones. Measures 440 and 441 would have to pass together for the system to take effect, and supporters argue the state has much to gain from the change, chiefly additional tax revenue.
Initiative 440 is a proposed constitutional amendment that would authorize legislation allowing people to place sports wagers through internet-based platforms run by authorized gaming operators connected to licensed racetrack casinos. Initiative 441 is the accompanying statutory measure. It would establish the legal framework for online sports wagering and authorize the Nebraska Racing and Gaming Commission to regulate operators and adopt rules for the industry. Under the proposal, 70 percent of all wagering tax revenue would go to the state's Property Tax Credit Cash Fund.
Supporters have framed the measures as a way to keep money in the state. In the Nebraska secretary of state's informational pamphlet, they wrote that residents are already betting through illegal and offshore platforms or driving to a neighboring state where wagering is legal, and that this sends millions of dollars in tax revenue out of Nebraska each year. They said a regulated marketplace under Initiative 440 is projected to deliver more than $166 million in direct property tax relief to homeowners, farmers, ranchers and small businesses over the next ten years, a study commissioned by the campaign estimates, which would average roughly $16.6 million annually.
Nebraska already permits some sports gambling. Voters approved casino gambling at licensed racetracks in 2020, and sports wagering became available at racetrack casinos in 2023. Residents, however, must visit a licensed facility to place a bet. According to the Nebraska Racing and Gaming Commission, sportsbooks generated approximately $9.28 million in gross gaming revenue in 2025, nearly double the $4.71 million recorded in 2024. Nebraska taxes gross gaming revenue at 20 percent, with 70 percent of the resulting tax revenue directed to the Property Tax Credit Cash Fund.
The demand for betting across the state line is a central part of the argument. According to the geolocation compliance company GeoComply, there were approximately 3.4 million attempts to access regulated sportsbook applications from Nebraska during the 2024-25 NFL regular season, involving nearly 76,000 accounts. The company also recorded more than 326,000 geolocation checks at a single cornfield just across the border in Iowa. In a press release, GeoComply said thousands of bettors from Omaha cross into Iowa to place wagers, a phenomenon that has earned the nickname « The Busiest Cornfield in Iowa » because of the volume of checks in that rural area.
The national market has grown quickly. According to the American Gaming Association, the U.S. commercial sports betting industry generated $16.96 billion in revenue in 2025, a 22.8 percent increase from the previous year. Americans wagered a total of $166.94 billion through state-regulated sportsbooks, up 11 percent year over year, and sports betting generated $3.71 billion in state and local taxes in 2025, up 32.4 percent from 2024. The expansion has been driven in large part by mobile applications.
Not everyone sees the trend as a financial gain for bettors. A September Bank of America Institute study found that one in five Americans view sports betting as an investment, a figure that rises to two in five among Gen Z respondents. The study found that customers typically recover less than 75 cents for every dollar they send to betting platforms, and that even Gen Z, the best-performing generation, falls short of breaking even.
The campaign behind the measures, Tax Relief Nebraska, has drawn substantial backing from the gambling industry. According to campaign finance figures filed with the Nebraska Accountability and Disclosure Commission, the committee had raised just under $17.58 million and spent $15.83 million through October. Filings reviewed by Fortune show that online gambling companies FanDuel contributed over $7 million and DraftKings contributed over $9.5 million, according to the committee's October 26 report.
Source: fortune.com
8
