KEY TAKEAWAYS
- Nebraska voters will decide Nov. 3 whether to legalize online sports betting through Initiatives 440 and 441.
- FanDuel and DraftKings are financing a campaign that raised $14.65m through Sept. 29, emphasizing property tax relief and a regulated betting market.
- Opposition is gaining visibility, with Tom Osborne and other Nebraska Cornhuskers urging rejection while State Treasurer Joey Spellerberg and State Auditor Mike Foley challenge the tax relief pitch.
A sportsbook-backed campaign to legalize online Nebraska sports betting faces a more visible opposition push with eight days left before voters decide the issue.
Former University of Nebraska football coach Tom Osborne joined dozens of current and former Huskers in urging voters to reject Initiatives 440 and 441 on Nov. 3. Meanwhile, State Treasurer Joey Spellerberg and State Auditor Mike Foley appeared in an advertisement attacking the property tax relief promises at the center of the legalization campaign.
Opponents are challenging a campaign funded primarily by FanDuel and DraftKings under the name Tax Relief Nebraska, which raised $14.65m and spent $9.22m through Sept. 29 in a bid to push online Nebraska sports betting, according to public filings. Each sportsbook company contributed more than $7m.
The two measures would amend Nebraska’s constitution and establish a regulatory framework for online sports betting, expanding a market that is limited to racetrack casinos.
Osborne joins online Nebraska sports betting opposition
Industry sources previously told SBC Americas the vote will hinge on how much property tax relief Nebraskans believe they will see from online Nebraska sports betting.
Save Nebraska Sports, which organized in September, released a letter signed by 45 current and former Cornhuskers athletes and coaches opposing the measures. Along with Osborne, signers include football coach Ron Brown, wrestling coach Mark Manning, Turner Gill and former running back Roy Helu Jr.
The letter argues that expanding sports betting to mobile phones would:
- Expose athletes to more harassment.
- Increase gambling advertising.
- Threaten the integrity of competition.
“They see our state as another market and every phone as another casino,” the letter states.
The signers also warn about the pressure gambling can place on college athletes, adding that “no student-athlete should face harassment or threats because gamblers lost money on a game, a play, or a parlay.”
The campaign brings prominent Nebraska sports figures into the closing debate, alongside longtime gambling opponents. Gambling with the Good Life Executive Director Pat Loontjer also recently joined Omaha’s Open Door Mission in speaking against the expansion.
State officials challenge tax relief pitch
Spellerberg and Foley are targeting the financial argument for legalization in an advertisement paid for by Spellerberg, according to the Nebraska Examiner.
The officials accuse the industry of making the “same false promises” about property tax relief that accompanied Nebraska’s 2020 casino gambling vote.
“And our property taxes aren’t lower,” Foley said in the advertisement. “… Don’t believe the lies.”
The ad also highlights a campaign finance distinction that candidates can buy advertising at lower rates than ballot-question committees in competitive advertising markets. Nebraska lawmakers declined to change that arrangement this year.
There is not a unified position within the state’s executive branch on online Nebraska sports betting. Gov. Jim Pillen previously supported legalizing online Nebraska sports betting to help fund property tax relief, although his office stopped short of endorsing the ballot measures when asked last week.
“The governor is going to respect the will of the voters,” spokesperson Laura Strimple told the Examiner.
Sportsbooks emphasize taxes and regulation
Tax Relief Nebraska continues to promote legalization as a way to capture revenue from betting already taking place outside Nebraska’s regulated market. Its messaging includes appeals to voters to take property taxes into their own hands and secure “the relief we deserve.”
Under the current casino tax structure, gaming revenue is taxed at 20%, and 70% of the proceeds go to the Property Tax Credit Cash Fund. Under the measures, online Nebraska sports betting revenue would follow that structure unless lawmakers later change it.
The campaign cites a commissioned study projecting $166m for the property tax credit fund over 10 years.
Online Nebraska sports betting campaign sponsor Jordan McGrain argues that rejecting the measures would leave Nebraska without the additional revenue or oversight of a legal online market.
“Without legalizing and regulating the marketplace, we just get the status quo, which not only provides none of these protections but sees millions of dollars in revenue going across state lines,” McGrain, who is a political consultant and the former executive director of the state Republicans, told the Examiner.
What Nebraska voters would authorize
In-person sports betting is currently available at casinos in Nebraska, which voters approved at the ballot in 2020.
Initiative 440 would amend the Nebraska Constitution to permit online Nebraska sports betting, which Initiative 441 would establish the accompanying statutory framework. Sportsbooks would need to partner with licensed racetrack casinos and operate a gaming server within Nebraska.
Supporters also point to existing restrictions on college betting. Nebraska law prohibits wagers on Nebraska college teams when they play at home, and the Racing and Gaming Commission can impose additional restrictions.
If the online Nebraska sports betting measures pass, Initiative 441 gives the commission a June 1 deadline to adopt necessary regulatory changes.
