Nebraska Sports Betting Hearing About Online Ops Fields Divided Testimony

Posted on: March 12, 2025, 10:42h. 

Last updated on: March 12, 2025, 11:02h.

Devin O'Connor @CasinoorgDevinO Read More
Expertise: Asia Pacific Gaming, Commercial Gaming, Legislation, Politics.
  • Nebraska sports betting could expand to online platforms
  • Two bills seek to allow mobile sports bets
  • Opponents say more gambling means more problems

Nebraska sports betting bills to expand wagering to online platforms were discussed in the Lincoln capital on Monday where lawmakers heard from both sides of the issue.

Nebraska sports betting online mobile
Will Nebraska Cornhuskers football fans be able to legally bet on their team remotely in the coming months? Legislation to expand sports betting to the internet is being considered in the Lincoln capital. (Image: Shutterstock)

The Nebraska General Affairs Committee welcomed testimony from proponents of mobile sports betting and those who believe more gambling will cause more addiction and societal problems. Two bills have been filed to expand sports betting to the internet.

Legislative Bill 421, filed by Sen. Stanley Clouse (R-Buffalo), would allow casinos to run one online sportsbook. Clouse believes the 2020 statewide ballot referendum that voters passed to authorize slot machines, live dealer table games, and sports betting at horse racetracks where live racing remains allows the unicameral Legislature to expand sports betting to the internet.

Sen. Eliot Bostar (D-Lincoln) disagrees. Bostar contends that the Nebraska Constitution was amended to allow casino gambling only on the physical premises of the racetracks.  Bostar is behind Legislative Resolution 20, a proposed amendment to the constitution to allow sports wagers to be placed “by means of a mobile or electronic platform.”

Sports Betting Discussion 

During the Nebraska sports betting hearing, Bostar told his fellow lawmakers that the state isn’t reaping the full benefit of allowing sports gambling by limiting bets to in-person at casinos.

He opined that many Nebraskans who wish to bet legally on sports are traveling to neighboring Iowa, Colorado, and Kansas where online sports betting is allowed. Many others continue to use illegal, offshore sports betting websites that aren’t taxed nor provide consumer safeguards such as guarantees that winning bets will be paid.

The demand for mobile sports betting is clear,” Bostar said. “It’s in our best interest to regulate and benefit from it.”

Sarah Meuli, a government affairs representative for DraftKings, said legal, regulated sportsbooks “provide a customer-centric experience with strict oversight, transparency, and player safeguards.”

There was opposition, however, too. Pat Loontjer, the executive director of Gambling With The Good Life, an organization founded in 1995 that’s dedicated to blocking gambling expansion in Nebraska, told lawmakers that they were elected “to protect constituents,” not to “prey” on them for additional tax revenue.

Nebraska Family Alliance Executive Director Nate Grasz, whose organization promotes “Biblical values,” told the committee that if the state’s sportsbooks want to gain online wagering privileges, they should be responsible for rallying up public support instead of lawmakers doing the job for them.

Subdued Sports Betting Revenue 

With sports betting confined to racetrack casinos, oddsmakers in Nebraska won just $4.7 million off bettors in 2024. Each of the four casinos in operation — WarHorse Lincoln, Grand Island, Harrah’s Columbus, and WarHorse Omaha — offered retail sports betting.

West Virginia, which is home to 200K fewer people but has mobile sports betting along with in-person wagering, reported that oddsmakers won $56 million in 2024, with a considerable majority of the bets coming online.

Nebraska is one of 24 states not home to a team in the “big four” — the NFL, MLB, NBA, and NHL. But the state is obsessed with college sports, mainly its beloved Nebraska Cornhuskers football team that was a college football powerhouse in the 1970s, 80s, and 90s.