LINCOLN, Neb. (Nebraska Examiner) - The question of whether online sports betting should beryllium ineligible successful Nebraska volition apt travel earlier voters this November.
Lynne McNally, manager of authorities relations for WarHorse casino, confirmed that the radical Tax Relief Nebraska submitted signatures for a brace of petitions to the Nebraska Secretary of State’s Office connected Friday, up of its July 2 deadline.
The radical submitted much than 201,000 signatures for a petition seeking a law amendment to legalize online sports betting, and submitted astir 146,000 signatures for an accompanying petition that would acceptable up the statutory model for taxes and nonstop 70% of the revenues to spot taxation credits — the aforesaid arsenic casino taxes.
Now, McNally said the run is waiting for verification from each 93 Nebraska counties, but the fig of signatures submitted good exceeds the minimum requirement. The law amendment petition required astir 126,000 signatures, portion the different needed astir 88,000.
Legalizing online sports betting has been a taxable of statement successful Nebraska for the past respective years, with aggregate attempts successful the authorities Legislature failing to garner capable enactment to pass. Critics person agelong argued that the imaginable gross benefits bash not outweigh the societal costs of the authorities efficaciously encouraging gambling.
The run submitted signatures with small fanfare. McNally said they didn’t consciousness the request to marque an lawsuit retired of it due to the fact that galore Nebraskans already prosecute successful online gambling, and conscionable bash it illegally.
If the initiatives suffice for the ballot, McNally said the group’s adjacent steps would beryllium an informational campaign, with its main connection being that legalizing online sports betting would support taxation revenues successful Nebraska, alternatively than diverting them to different states wherever it’s already legal.
The deficiency of an authoritative announcement was “absolutely not” due to the fact that of pushback the run received from opposing groups similar the Nebraska Family Alliance, McNally said. The lobbying radical issued a property merchandise June 18 that called the petition thrust “a sham” and accused its members of misleading voters.
“I don’t typically trust connected thing the Nebraska Family Alliance does oregon says,” McNally said.
The Nebraska Family Alliance took purpose astatine the campaign’s assertion that legalizing online sports betting would make conscionable nether $87 cardinal successful caller authorities taxation gross implicit 5 years. If true, the merchandise said that would connote Nebraskans had spent astir $435 cardinal connected online gambling during that time, and claimed the initiatives would lone offset spot taxes by little than 1%.
“To archer voters this is astir taxation relief, erstwhile the connection is really a large enlargement of online gambling financed by out-of-state gambling companies — whose ain estimates amusement little than a 4th of 1 percent successful spot taxation alleviation — is simply a implicit sham and raises superior questions astir predetermination integrity,” Nate Grasz, enforcement manager of the Nebraska Family Alliance, said successful the property release.
McNally accused the Nebraska Family Alliance of cherry picking what causes they take to beryllium “morally outraged” about. She noted that the radical supported palmy authorities earlier this twelvemonth to increase taxes connected accomplishment crippled machines commonly recovered astatine state stations.
Grasz said the ground of the Nebraska Family Alliance’s enactment was owed to the authorities besides expanding regulations connected underage play and adding restrictions connected advertising.
McNally said the taxation alleviation imaginable associated with the ballot initiatives is “a fact,” arsenic the connection is modeled aft a erstwhile voter-approved inaugural to legalize casino gambling.
According to authorities documents connected Nebraska’s gaming tax, the state’s 5 casinos generated much than $52.3 cardinal successful taxation gross successful 2025, with astir $36.6 cardinal of that going toward spot taxation credits. This twelvemonth is connected way to transcend that amount, arsenic much than $26.9 cardinal successful gaming taxes person been generated done May 2026.
“If that’s not spot taxation relief, I don’t cognize what is,” McNally said.
If some initiatives win connected the ballot, past online sports betting companies could spouse with Nebraska’s casinos to supply online gambling options. McNally said WarHorse has already contracted with respective companies to bash this, including FanDuel, DraftKings and MGM.
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