America’s largest sportsbooks are throwing their weight behind the push to bring mobile sports betting to Nebraska.
FanDuel and DraftKings each contributed more than $1.1 million to a new initiative aiming to lift restrictions limiting sports betting to retail casinos inside state lines.
Key Takeaways
- Nebraska is in a minority of states that haven’t legalized online sports betting.
- Several unsuccessful attempts have been made to pass legislation.
- A Senator estimated that online sports betting could generate $32 million in tax revenue in 2.5 years.
The top sportsbooks are supporting the “Tax Relief Nebraska” campaign, an initiative that is hoping to create an online sports betting market through a Constitutional amendment.
According to campaign finance records, FanDuel and DraftKings both provided $1,162,500 to the effort. Supporters also raised $250,000 from Road Digital, a joint venture of BetMGM, and GB Enterprises OPCO, the operating entity for Fanatics Betting and Gaming, totaling more than $2.6 million in donations from top operators made in February and March.
The campaign is currently collecting signatures from registered voters as it aims to get the question of whether Nebraska online sports betting should be legal on the upcoming general election ballot in November. The money that was raised will help them cover expenses related to the signature-gathering phase, such as paying employees and volunteers.
According to the Nebraska Secretary of State, organizers are responsible for collecting valid signatures from at least 10% of registered voters in Nebraska for a Constitutional amendment, 7% for an initiative to propose a law, and 5% for a ballot referendum.
Additionally, at least 5% of the registered voters in 38 of Nebraska’s 93 counties must also sign their support for the proposal for it to meet the qualifying criteria.
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Tracking the progress
Legal sports betting already exists in Nebraska, although only at retail casinos. Former Gov. Pete Ricketts signed LB 561 into law on May 25, 2021, and the first bets were placed in June 2023.
There are 1,254,285 registered voters in Nebraska, according to the latest statistics. Since 10% of registered voters are required to signal their approval for an amendment, the group is responsible for collecting at least 125,429 valid signatures to have a chance of pairing its retail sports betting market with a mobile complement.
Tax Relief Nebraska began its work in September 2025 after years of failure to progress online sports betting legislation.
Last March, the Nebraska Senate General Affairs Committee approved Sen. Eliot Bostar’s (D-29) approved LR20CA, which would have approved online sports betting through a Constitutional amendment. Bostar estimated that approval would have created $32 million in additional tax revenue over the following two-and-a-half years.
Despite his forecast, the Senate voted against the proposal in April, 27-16, and a second vote was blocked by a filibuster.
Bostar last year warned of a possible initiative to legalize online sports betting and said that legislators would have more authority over the framework of an online sports betting market if they created their own bill. His plea fell on deaf ears, as the state remains without a legal setup and does not have momentum toward legalization.
Off the beaten path
Nebraska is the only state in the country with a unicameral legislature. Bills are advanced to the Governor’s desk without having to go to another chamber, although they must pass three votes with a two-thirds majority before they are advanced.
Nebraska’s push for online sports betting is similar to the one that occurred in its neighboring state, Missouri. A coalition spearheaded by local professional sports teams pushed an initiative to the ballot referendum in 2024, which was approved by voters. Missouri sports betting went live on Dec. 1, 2025.
