Millions Flowing Into Nebraska Sports Betting Initiative Campaign

• FanDuel and DraftKings donated $1.5 million each in April to Tax Relief Nebraska
• The initiative will legalize online sports betting and allow platform providers to partner with up to two online sports betting operators
• Nearly $6 million has been donated to the initiative since February

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Sports betting companies are throwing millions of dollars at a campaign to legalize Nebraska online sports betting.

DraftKings and FanDuel both donated $1.5 million in April to Tax Relief Nebraska, a committee hoping to legalize online sports betting in the Cornhusker State. It was the second round of contributions from both companies, as the two also each contributed $1,162,500 to the cause in February.

Tax Relief Nebraska currently has 130 petition circulators working in the state to collect the needed signatures for the referendum question.

Nearly $6 Million in Finances

According to campaign finance records in the state, DraftKings and FanDuel have contributed $5,325,000 to Tax Relief Nebraska for its referendum question efforts since February Additionally, FBG Enterprises OPCO (Fanatics) contributed $75,000 to the cause, while Roar Digital, a joint venture of BetMGM, contributed $250,000 to the group.

The contributions will support Tax Relief Nebraska’s efforts to collect the necessary valid signatures to place a question on the state’s November general election ballot

Sports betting is currently legal in the state, but Tax Relief Nebraska is hoping to expand gaming to include online sports through a constitutional amendment.

Jordan McGrain, a petition sponsor for Tax Relief Nebraska, told Sports Betting Dime in late April there is a “ton of enthusiasm” in the state for legalized online sports betting. McGrain reported the committee is “on pace” to collect the necessary amount of signatures to place a referendum question on the state’s general election ballot

According to the Nebraska Secretary of State, the organizers will have to collect verified signatures equaling 7% or more of registered voters in Nebraska. For a constitutional amendment, 10% of the registered voters must sign, and for a referendum at least 5% must sign.

In addition, signatures must be collected from 5% of the registered voters in 38 of the 93 Nebraska counties.

According to Nebraska voter registration statistics, as of April 2026 there are 1,255,154 registered voters in the state. If 10% of registered voters must sign for a constitutional amendment, this means proponents will have to collect more about 125,151 signatures to place a question on the ballot.

The deadline for collected signatures is July 2, 2026, according to the Nebraska Secretary of State’s office.

Millions in Potential Tax Revenues for State

The proposed constitutional amendment will earmark 70% of online sports betting tax revenues for a property tax credit fund in the state. The tax revenue disbursements are similar to Nebraska’s legal in-person sports betting market.

Tax Relief Nebraska commissioned a study from Eilers & Krejcik on the impact online sports betting may have on tax relief in the state. If legalized, Nebraska could see millions in additional revenue for property tax relief over the next five years.

Nebraska projects to generate $86.6 million in gross gaming revenue in its first year of legalized online sports betting, which would increase to about $163.1 million in gross gaming revenue by year five.

The company projected these revenue estimates by observing gross gaming revenue-per-adult data from comparable markets, such as Kansas, Iowa, Kentucky, and Wyoming. These were adjusted for Nebraska-specific factors such as disposable income, sports interest, internet access, and a prohibition on sports betting involving Nebraska college teams.

The independent research firm estimate Nebraska would see nearly $87 million in total online sports betting tax revenues through the first five year of operation. About $60.9 million would be used for Nebraska property tax relief with the required 70% property tax relief allocation.

About $21.7 million would be used for the local share, $2.2 million for a compulsive gambling fund, and $2.2 million for the state’s general fund.