FanDuel, DraftKings Add $7M to Nebraska Online Betting Push

FanDuel and DraftKings have each contributed another $3.5 million to the campaign to legalize online sports betting in Nebraska, nearly doubling the committee's fundraising less than a month before voters decide the issue.

Tax Relief Nebraska, the committee backing the effort, reported $7.25 million in contributions between July 28 and Sept. 29, bringing its election-year total to $14.65 million, according to its latest campaign finance statement as reported by Covers. The Nebraska Accountability and Disclosure Commission released the filing data Monday.

With the new checks, each operator has given $7,037,500 to the committee this year, up from $3,537,500 apiece before the reporting period. DraftKings made its latest contribution Aug. 26 and FanDuel followed Aug. 28, according to the state data.

Other operators have given far less. BetMGM added $250,000 during the period, raising its total to $500,000, while Fanatics contributed $75,000 earlier and reported nothing new.

The committee spent about $2.29 million during the period and had $5.43 million in cash on Sept. 29. Its election-year spending reached $9.22 million, including $1.71 million for advertising, most of it on the state's four major broadcast television stations.

What Initiatives 440 and 441 Would Do

Voters will see two related measures from Tax Relief Nebraska on the Nov. 3 general election ballot. Both qualified in August, and both must pass for online sports betting to become legal.

Initiative 440 would amend the Nebraska Constitution to authorize laws allowing people located in Nebraska to place sports wagers through an internet-based platform offered by an authorized gaming operator at a licensed racetrack enclosure, according to the ballot language in the state's official voter pamphlet.

Initiative 441 would write those rules into statute. Each authorized gaming operator could run sports wagering through no more than two online platforms operated by platform providers, and the State Racing and Gaming Commission would have to adopt online wagering rules by June 1, 2027. Covers estimated the structure could support up to 12 mobile sportsbooks across the state's six gaming facilities.

The measure's definition of sports wagering also carves out certain bets. Wagers on individual athletes and in-game bets involving games in which a Nebraska college team is playing would be off the board, as would bets on the performance of athletes under 18 in professional or international events.

Nebraska allows in-person sports betting at its racetrack casinos

Nebraska already allows in-person sports betting at its racetrack casinos, which voters approved in 2020. Approval would bring the state in line with the many markets where US sportsbooks take bets through mobile apps.

In the voter pamphlet, supporters say the plan would send 70% of wagering tax revenue to the state's Property Tax Credit Cash Fund and deliver more than $166 million in property tax relief over 10 years. Opponents counter that Initiative 440 "turns every phone into a casino, every play into a wager, and every athlete into a target" and argue that taxpayers would see no real relief.

The Nebraska Family Alliance, which leads the opposition, has reported no contributions this cycle, according to Covers. RG.org previously reported when online sports betting landed on Nebraska's November ballot.

Even without a legal online sportsbook market, FanDuel and DraftKings already offer sports event contracts in Nebraska through their prediction market platforms, Covers noted.