Nebraska Sports Betting Group Clears Signature Threshold with Room to Spare

Nebraska online sports betting moved closer to a statewide vote this week after supporters submitted enough signatures to secure ballot measures.

Ziv Chen

Last Updated: July 1, 2026 4:23 PM EDT • 2 minute read

Pictured: Nebraska Cornhuskers forward Berke Buyuktuncel celebrates as we look at the status of legal sports betting in the state. Photo by USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect

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Nebraska voters might determine the fate of sports betting in the state. An organization working to bring online sports betting to Nebraska polls has gathered well beyond the number of signatures needed to qualify for the ballot.

Tax Relief Nebraska turned in its petitions to the Secretary of State's Office on Friday, submitting more than 201,000 signatures for a constitutional amendment allowing online wagering and another 146,000 for a companion measure that would set up tax rules for the activity. The group needed roughly 126,000 and 88,000 signatures, respectively, so both totals cleared the bar with time to spare before the deadline.

Under the tax framework petition, 70% of proceeds collected from wagering would go toward property tax relief, matching the share currently pulled from casino tax revenue. Presently, residents of the state do not have access to the best online sports betting sites.

Sports betting is already legal in Nebraska, but only in person at one of the state's five racetrack casinos, which combined for about $9.3 million in wagering revenue last year and under $2 million in resulting tax revenue. If voters approve the measures in November, casinos would be permitted to partner with online operators such as DraftKings and FanDuel.

Backers project the change could generate more than $30 million annually in gaming tax revenue. Critics counter that mobile betting carries a higher risk of problem gambling and that the added revenue would not offset the social costs. County officials must now verify the signatures before the secretary of state certifies the measures for the fall ballot.

Wisconsin joins the list of states legalizing mobile wagering

Nebraska isn’t the only state to contemplate legalizing online sports betting this year, with Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers signing legislation on April 9, making Wisconsin the 33rd state to permit online sports betting, though actual wagering remains months away.

The new law requires the state to reach fresh agreements with each of its 11 federally recognized tribes before betting can begin, and Evers said he would not support any arrangement that favors one tribe over the others.

Gambling in Wisconsin has long been confined to tribal land under existing state compacts, with in-person sports wagering limited to select tribal casinos. The new framework follows a hub-and-spoke setup already used in Florida, meaning the servers processing online bets must sit on tribal property even though customers can place wagers from anywhere in the state.

Support for the bill came from several tribes and the Milwaukee Brewers, who argued residents were already betting through offshore sites or by traveling to neighboring states like Illinois. The Sports Betting Alliance, representing companies including FanDuel and DraftKings, opposed the arrangement, saying a federal requirement that 60% of revenue return to tribes makes the partnership financially impractical for national operators.

Wisconsin tribes paid the state just over $66 million from casino revenue in 2024 under the current compact system.

Written by:
Ziv Chen

Ziv has over two decades of experience in the igaming and sports betting industry, having served in senior marketing and business development positions with both B2C and B2B companies, including Playtech and Microgaming. In 2019, Ziv decided to pursue his passion for writing and became a fulltime industry journalist, covering casino, sports, and gambling business news. He’s specialties include casino games and technology, US state gambling regulation, company performance, as well as gambling affiliates and marketing. As a Pitt graduate, Ziv is a diehard fan of all Pittsburgh sports teams, with the Steelers at the top of the list. In his free time, he enjoys reading crime fiction, biographies (mainly of sports personalities, but not only) and American history. Ziv’s Favorite quote: “We're going to pursue perfection, knowing full well we won't catch it, but we're going to relentlessly chase it," Mike Tomlin, Pittsburgh Steelers Head Coach.