Nebraska Online Sports Betting

Betting options in Nebraska were tightly restricted until the state’s citizens stood up at the ballot box in November 2020 to have their voices heard. The state overwhelmingly voted for gambling reform including “all games of chance.” That was widely interpretated to mean sports betting and casinos in all their forms; both offline and online gaming types were open for discussion when lawmakers came up with their gaming model for the state in 2021. 

In May 2021, the state passed its sports gambling laws, but that didn’t mean it was operational. It is unlikely betting will actually take place in Nebraska in 2022, and there is a chance it won’t be up and running until 2025. And when it does become available, it will be limited to just physical sportsbook locations and not mobile wagering as the law is currently written.

Most forms of online gambling are unavailable in Nebraska, with the only legal forms of online betting in the state are Daily Fantasy Sports (DFS). The state lottery, horse racing and charitable gaming options offer the most opportunities for Nebraska to gamble until lawmakers decide on how to apply the prohibition on gaming expansion.

The state of Nebraska offers a boutique range of legal gaming options including the soon to begin casino and sports betting, DFS, horse racing, poker (for prizes only, not real money), the state lottery, ‘slots’ casinos and charitable gambling.

Nebraska has a 5% state tax on gambling winnings.

Large gambling wins over $600 in the state of Nebraska may possibly attract an additional Federal Tax.

Contact your tax attorney to assess your potential Federal tax liability if you have a big win in Nebraska.

Nebraska adheres to a range of legal gambling ages (i.e. a casino gambling age limit of 21, a state lottery age limit of 19, and 18 years-of-age for all other forms of legal gambling).

Nebraskans are the latest state that gave its residents the opportunity to decide on the 2020 ballot for legalizing sports betting under the broad scope of expanding gaming. Nebraskans chose by a 2-to-1 majority that they want to place wagers legally under the law.

The key initiative was No. 429, which amended the Nebraska state constitution to allow gambling. Nebraskan State Law No. 430 then initiated the creation of Nebraska Gaming Commission, and finally, State Law No. 431 set the state tax rate on gaming revenue at 20%.

However, once the state’s lawmakers decided on how to apply the state’s new gaming expansion laws, it excluded all mobile betting. When Nebraska does get its betting apparatus operational in the state, it will be limited to physical locations at the moment.

In November 2020, the residents of Nebraska stood up at the voting booth and officially adopted the state’s gaming expansion legislation. That expansion included ‘all games of chance’ as worded in the referendum, which included sports betting. Lawmakers quickly passed a law in May 2021, but that framework still barred mobile sports betting. Therefore the operators of the best online betting sites NJ are still waiting for their own approval to begin legal operation in Nebraska.

Daily fantasy sports sites do operate in Nebraska however, the games are not yet expressly legal. The DFS companies claim that they are permitted because the activity is a game of skill. Nebraska’s state attorney general has not released an opinion that contradicts those claims. Meanwhile, online players can play real money DFS competitions in the state without running afoul of Nebraska’s state laws.

As it is widely considered to be a contest of skill and unrelated to regular casino games of random chance, Daily Fantasy Sports (DFS) betting has long been exempt from US federal legislation.

The most conservative states have disallowed fantasy sports, however, in 2017, the state of Nebraska attempted to legislate to formally legalize and regulate fantasy sports with bill LB469 by amending existing law to ensure DFS games are not classified as illegal gambling in Nebraska.

The bill was filibustered in both 2017 and 2018 which only goes to show that Nebraska’s State Legislature has little taste for change in regulating DFS. 

Meanwhile, however, all DFS sites can legally accept players from Nebraska and online players from the Cornhusker State are free to legally participate in DFS until the legalization question has been fully resolved by the State House

When sports betting becomes an accepted and legalized form of gambling in Nebraska, expect that eSports (widely known as ‘competitive gaming’) will lead the way in for a young generation of Millennial gamblers to become involved with a contemporary form of sports betting that is unashamedly pitched at a young, technologically aware, and technology-literate population.

What are eSports?

eSports (‘competitive gaming’ in the most popular multi-player online video games like Dota 2, League of Legends, Call of Duty, CS:GO and others) is the fastest growing genre of sports entertainment in the modern world.

The sport has evolved from the one-time underground LAN gaming community to become a mainstream sport. Players worldwide compete in eSports tournaments that are offering prize money in the millions. The enormous growth in the sport has coincided directly with the development in live video streaming technology.

Betting interest in eSports is subject to huge monthly increases and international sportsbooks offer odds on all the big global eSports tournaments, and big money is won and lost on a daily basis.

As soon as there is a legalized sportsbook in Nebraska, expect eSports betting markets to be among the first legal betting lines in the frame.

Horse racing betting in Nebraska is administered by the Nebraska State Racing Commission and they are responsible for approving racing events, animal welfare, simulcasting and licensing of the state racetracks.

Trackside Betting

Nebraska is home to six racetracks and races are usually held throughout summer months, totaling just a few days of racing each year. The rest of the year’s betting activity at the state’s racetracks is dedicated to the simulcasting of live events hosted at other U.S. tracks and international locations.

Off Track Betting (OTB) in Nebraska

OTB betting is not permitted in the state of Nebraska.

Online Horse Racing in Nebraska

Online Horse Racing Betting is not permitted in the state of Nebraska.

Visit our Nebraska online gambling page for more information on the laws in the Cornhusker State