Nebraska could become the only state this year to legalize online sports betting, as voters will have a chance to weigh in on a package of initiatives, the Secretary of State’s (SOS) office announced Friday. Per a press release, the two sports betting proposals reached the “signature thresholds” and will be on the ballot.
The proposals — one a constitutional amendment and one an initiative, both backed by commercial betting operators — would allow for statewide online sports betting with platforms tethered to horse racing facilities. The tax rate would be 20%, and a share of the tax revenue would be set aside for property tax relief.
The approval comes despite an open investigation by the Lancaster County Sheriff’s Department into signature-gathering fraud. Reported last Wednesday by the Nebraska Examiner, the department has called into question the validity of signatures gathered for four ballot proposals as well as petitions for a gubernatorial bid that did not collect enough signatures. So far, five out-of-state signature gatherers have been arrested, all of whom were gathering signatures for a petition to change the Lincoln city charter.
State capitol Lincoln is in Lancaster County.
Per the press release, the SOS instructed the elections department to complete signature verification when it had reached 110% of the required validated signatures. The constitutional amendment had collected at least 138,473 and the initiative had collected 96,918. Both met additional qualifications around the how many counties valid signatures must have been gathered from and percentage thresholds for what counties the signatures must come from.
The SOS must certify the ballot by Sept. 11.
Property tax relief may not be so much
In-person sports betting has been legal in Nebraska since voters approved it in November 2020. The first bets were made June 22, 2023. According to Nebraska Public Media, less than $2 million was collected in wagering tax revenue in 2025. Much of that money is earmarked for property tax relief. Approximately 67% of Nebraskans are homeowners, meaning about 1.3 million people split less than $2 million on their property tax bills in 2025, for a savings of less than $1.50 each.
Proponents of the online sports betting project $30 million in tax revenue. If that number is reached and 100% goes to property tax relief, the average homeowner would see a savings of about $23. West Virginia, which has a smaller population than Nebraska but has had online sports betting since 2019, collected $5.7 million in online sports betting tax revenue in 2025, per the Tax Foundation. West Virginia charges a 10% tax. Should Nebraska legalize, that would translate to about $11.4 million in tax revenue at a 20% tax rate.
Nebraska is surrounded by legal sports betting states, and proponents of the proposals say legalizing online wagering will keep tax dollars in the state. All but one of Nebraska’s six border states offers online sports betting, and there have been myriad stories about residents of Nebraska crossing into Iowa to wager — particularly on college football Saturdays, as Nebraska does not allow for betting on in-state teams playing at home.
The latest proposals would not change that requirement, though it’s possible that the Nebraska Racing and Gaming Commission could address it during the rulemaking process.
Qualified land-based casinos would be able to partner with at least two online wagering platforms, and the regulator would be tasked with promulgating rules by June 1, 2027.
