FanDuel and DraftKings put $14.1 million into Nebraska’s sports betting vote, most of one year of the relief its backers promise

Nebraska voters decide Nov. 3 on two ballot measures that would legalize sports betting through mobile apps tied to the state’s racetrack casinos, and FanDuel and DraftKings are paying for most of the campaign. Each company has given $7,037,500 to the committee behind it, Tax Relief Nebraska, this year, RG.org reported citing Covers and state disclosure filings. The committee raised $14.65 million through Sept. 29.

Initiative 440 would amend the state constitution to allow online sports wagering through the operators of licensed racetrack casinos. Initiative 441 writes the rules. Both have to pass for the market to open.

Supporters’ statements in the official ballot pamphlet say Initiative 441 “requires that 70 percent of all wagering tax revenue goes directly to Nebraska’s Property Tax Credit Cash Fund,” and that the plan is “projected to deliver more than $166 million in direct property tax relief” over the next ten years.

That projection averages about $16.6 million a year, by my arithmetic. The campaign’s $14.65 million comes close to one average year of the relief its own backers are promising.

Under Initiative 441, each authorized gaming operator could run sports betting through no more than two online platforms, and the State Racing and Gaming Commission would have to adopt rules by June 1, 2027. Covers estimates that cap allows up to 12 mobile sportsbooks across the state’s six gaming facilities. Bets on individual athletes and in-game bets in games involving a Nebraska college team would be off the board.

State Auditor Mike Foley, who opposes the measures, told KETV his “back-of-the-envelope calculations” put his own relief at “$8 to $10 per year.” WarHorse Casino CEO Lance Morgan, who supports them, called the money “a drop in the bucket” against rising local levies but said “it certainly will help.”

Tax Relief Nebraska’s website claims the market would bring in $60 million in tax revenue without saying over what period, InGame reported. A 2025 fiscal note for LB421, a separate bill the Legislature considered, projected $9.2 million in 2026 and $20.4 million in 2029 at a 20% tax rate, which InGame says is the same rate the ballot package uses.

Opponents’ pamphlet statement says the measures would “turn every phone into a casino, every play into a wager, and every athlete into a potential target,” while taxpayers get “no real property tax relief.” Former Nebraska football coach Tom Osborne and 44 other University of Nebraska coaches and players signed a letter against them this week, per InGame. The Nebraska Family Alliance, which leads the opposition, has reported no contributions this cycle, according to Covers.

FanDuel and DraftKings also already offer sports event contracts in Nebraska, trades that pay out on game results, through their prediction-market platforms, Covers noted.

If both measures pass, the two companies’ $14.1 million buys them a shot at the racetrack casinos’ app slots.

Sources

• RG.org: FanDuel, DraftKings add $7M to Nebraska online betting push
• InGame: Nebraska OSB opponents say commercial operators do not care about state’s athletes, traditions or families
• Nebraska Secretary of State: 2026 Ballot Measures Pamphlet
• KETV: Nebraska online sports betting on November ballot