The campaign to legalize online sports betting in Nebraska is confident that voters will have the opportunity to vote on the issue in the November 2026 election.
Tax Relief Nebraska, the group behind the online sports betting initiative, submitted more than 201,000 signatures to Nebraska Secretary of State Robert Evnen’s office. This number far exceeds the 127,000 threshold required to present voters with a ballot referendum to amend the state constitution.
Lancaster County Election Commissioner Todd Wiltgen suspects that some signature gatherers who worked on at least four petitions, including the online sports betting drive, may have committed fraud.
The Lancaster County Sheriff’s Office is conducting an investigation into allegations of petitions containing fraudulent signatures. It is believed that the individuals had the fraudulent signatures notarized and submitted the petitions for ballot counting.
“Our investigators will follow the evidence and report those findings to the prosecuting agency for review. We will continue to safeguard the integrity of this criminal investigation from attempts by any party, group, or affiliation to use them for political purposes,” said Lancaster County Sheriff Terry Wagner.
Six individuals have been arrested, according to Lancaster County Chief Deputy Houchin.
Confidence in Sports Campaign
Wiltgen identified over 13,000 petitions as potentially fraudulent, with approximately 68% marked for a suspected fraudulent signature. More than 20% were flagged due to suspicion that the person is not a registered voter in Nebraska.
A spokesperson for Tax Relief Nebraska expressed confidence that the campaign will meet the petition threshold despite the concerns in Lancaster County.
We remain very confident that we submitted enough valid signatures to qualify for the ballot, and if any circulator was found to have committed fraud, they should be identified and prosecuted,” Jordan McGrain, the managing director of Riverfront Strategy Group, told the Lincoln Journal Star. “Our goal is to collect signatures to get on the ballot, so fraud doesn’t help anybody.”
Tax Relief Nebraska received funding from DraftKings and FanDuel, with each contributing over $3.5 million. BetMGM also gave $250,000 to the cause. WarHorse Gaming, LLC, Nebraska’s largest casino operator, supported the sports betting effort.
Property Tax Implications
In 2020, Nebraskans approved in-person casinos, including slots, table games, and sports betting, at horse racetracks through a ballot referendum. Initiative 430 received 65% of the vote, with promises of using casino gaming taxes to reduce homeowner property taxes.
Nebraskans have already seen about $250 off their annual property tax assessment on a $200,000 home. Tax Relief Nebraska projects that online sports gambling will further increase tax breaks, with online sportsbooks contributing an additional $87 million to the state within the first five years.
However, the Christian-based nonprofit Nebraska Family Alliance (NFA) believes that the tax breaks are not worth the risks associated with expanded gambling.
“To tell voters this is about tax relief, when the proposal is actually a major expansion of online gambling financed by out-of-state gambling companies, is a complete sham and raises serious questions about election integrity,” said NFA Executive Director Nate Grasz.