Nebraska’s General Affairs Committee devoted several hours on Monday to a handful of bills that would expand sports betting.
Sen. Eliot Bostar’s LR20CA proposes a constitutional amendment to put online sports wagering on the election ballot in November 2026. Sen. Stan Clause’s LB 421 and Sen. Ashlei Spivey’s LB 438 both aim to legalize betting under different terms. And two bills from Sen. Tom Brandt, LB 63 and LB 342, look to expand betting on in-state college teams and allow daily fantasy sports, respectively.
“We don’t want to be Sears when Amazon comes”
Bostar’s proposal is the same one he made in a special session last year. Licensed racetracks would partner with an online sportsbook and tax revenue would be dedicated mostly to the Nebraska Environmental Trust Fund and in-state education.
He stressed that Nebraskans are already betting, but cited estimates that the state is losing out on $32 million in tax revenue annually due to the illegal market and the fact that five neighboring states offer legal online betting.
Speaking in support was Lance Morgan, CEO of the Winnebago Tribe’s Ho-Chunk Inc., which operates WarHorse Gaming. The company plans to partner with a major online sportsbook should betting become legal.
“We don’t want to be Sears when Amazon comes,” Morgan remarked.
Overall, the proposals saw far more opposition than support, mostly hooked on concerns about problem gambling, addiction and economic and family impacts. Bostar’s bill had three proponents and more than 50 opponents. The need to expand existing retail betting to online wagering was also questioned.
“If they want to bet on sports, they can, but this is trying to force it onto every device in the state,” said Nate Grasz of the Nebraska Family Alliance. “Anybody who wants to find online gambling can already find it,” added Mike Sciandra of the Nebraska Gamblers Assistance Program.
Nebraska sports betting already happening — often in Iowa
GeoComply SVP of Compliance Lindsay Slader reported detecting 83,000 regulated sportsbook accounts in Nebraska, up 63% in one year, and 42,000 border exits, 92% of which were to Iowa. Many of those went to one particular location, dubbed “the Busiest Cornfield in America”, to bet.
“If we were the first out of the gate here or our neighbors weren’t doing it, I would be on the opposite side,” said Bostar. “But this is what people are doing … Let’s not leave this money on the table or have it go to Iowa for another two years.”
Sport Betting Alliance (SBA) representative Sean Ostrow said a survey showed that more than 80% of Nebraskans who drove to Iowa to place bets said they would stop if online betting was legalized in Nebraska.
How do sports betting proposals differ?
While Bostar’s legislation is the amendment to allow a vote, Clause’s LB 421 and Spivey’s LB 438 offered suggested frameworks for regulation.
LB 421 would allow six licenses (one skin per operator) and allocate 90% of tax revenue to the property tax credit cash fund. Spivey’s bill differed by not including in-state collegiate sporting events and by dedicating a large chunk of tax money to an education fund.
Underdog Sports’ Zach Farber spoke in support of Clause’s bill but advocated for up to three licenses per operator instead of one, pointing to product choice and consumer protections.
Clause noted that his LB 421 is only needed if Bostar’s constitutional amendment is approved. But Spivey suggested she didn’t think that step was necessary, as “this bill does not expand gambling beyond what voters have already approved through licensed racetrack gaming… We did that research ahead of time to ensure the language is legally sound.”
Brandt digs into the details
Brandt’s LB 63 to lift the ban on betting for in-state teams playing in Nebraska, a provision also included in Clause’s bill, also advocates for allowing live betting on in-state teams.
The senator asserted that limiting these factors would unnecessarily curb revenues and risk driving gamblers to the black market.
“Anecdotal evidence is that [live betting] would be about 25% increase in sports betting,” he said.
Brandt’s other bill, LB 342, seeks to regulate DFS, and Brandt said his proposed tax structure for the vertical would bring $2-$3 million in additional annual state revenue.
Lynn McNally, representing the Nebraska Horsemen and WarHorse Casino, spoke in favor of Brandt’s betting bill but in opposition to the DFS measure. She argued that against-the-house DFS equates to sports betting and therefore is unconstitutional. Brandt responded that he would be open to an amendment “if that does turn out to be a problem.”
No votes were taken during the three-hour session.
