Nebraska betting vote faces late Osborne-led opposition surge

Nebraskans head to the polls on Nov. 3 to decide whether to legalize online sports betting, and a campaign bankrolled by two of the country's largest sportsbook operators is now contending with a late and high-profile wave of resistance.

Former University of Nebraska head football coach Tom Osborne has added his name to a letter from Save Nebraska Sports, a group formed in September, opposing ballot measures Initiative 440 and Initiative 441. The letter carries 45 signatures from current and former Cornhuskers players and coaches, including football coach Ron Brown, wrestling coach Mark Manning, Turner Gill and former running back Roy Helu Jr.

The letter warns that putting sports betting on mobile phones would subject athletes to greater harassment, drive up gambling advertising and put competitive integrity at risk. It states that backers of legal betting "see our state as another market and every phone as another casino," and argues that "no student-athlete should face harassment or threats because gamblers lost money on a game, a play, or a parlay."

Pat Loontjer, executive director of Gambling with the Good Life, has also spoken out against expansion alongside Omaha's Open Door Mission, according to SBC Americas.

On the official side, State Treasurer Joey Spellerberg and State Auditor Mike Foley have appeared together in an advertisement, paid for by Spellerberg, that disputes the property tax relief central to the pro-betting campaign's pitch. Foley invoked Nebraska's 2020 casino gambling referendum in the ad, saying the same promises were made then. "And our property taxes aren't lower," he said, adding: "Don't believe the lies," as reported by the Nebraska Examiner.

The advertisement also raises a campaign finance quirk: candidates can purchase advertising at lower rates than ballot-question committees can in competitive media markets, an arrangement state lawmakers chose not to alter this year.

Governor Jim Pillen has previously backed legalizing online betting as a property-tax funding tool, but his office declined to formally endorse the ballot measures when asked last week. Spokesperson Laura Strimple told the Examiner that "the governor is going to respect the will of the voters."

The pro-legalization effort, organized as Tax Relief Nebraska, is financed overwhelmingly by FanDuel and DraftKings, with each company contributing more than $7m. Public filings show the committee had raised $14.65m and spent $9.22m as of Sept. 29.

Initiative 440 would amend Nebraska's constitution to permit online sports betting, while Initiative 441 would lay out the statutory framework to regulate it. Betting in Nebraska is currently confined to in-person wagering at racetrack casinos, authorized by a 2020 ballot vote.

Under existing casino tax rules, gaming revenue is taxed at 20%, with 70% of proceeds flowing into the Property Tax Credit Cash Fund, and the ballot measures would apply that same structure to online betting unless lawmakers intervene later. The campaign points to a commissioned study estimating $166m would flow into the property tax fund over a decade.

Campaign sponsor Jordan McGrain, a political consultant and former executive director of the state Republican Party, told the Examiner that voting down the measures would simply preserve an unregulated status quo. "Without legalizing and regulating the marketplace, we just get the status quo, which not only provides none of these protections but sees millions of dollars in revenue going across state lines," he said.

SBC Americas reported that industry observers expect the outcome to turn on how convinced Nebraska voters are that legal mobile betting will actually translate into meaningful property tax savings.