Official Expect Interest in Nebraska Sports Betting at Casinos to Keep Climbing

The launch of Nebraska sports betting is now nearly 18 months old. And if recent sentiments from state officials are any indication, interest in it will not be waning anytime soon.

In fact, it appears that most stakeholders in The Cornhusker State believe they have barely scratched the surface of the market’s potential. This conviction comes on the heels of sports betting in Nebraska generating millions of dollars in additional revenue during its first year. 

Of course, sports betting in The Cornhusker State is in its honeymoon period—financially speaking. Nebraska does not have a previous baseline off which to work. It is also easy to predict continued growth when you launched operations less than a year-and-a-half ago. 

Still, when you consider the circumstance under which Nebraska sports betting legalization came to be, you can’t help but look at the future with rose-colored glasses. It really does feel like the wagering in the state is on a swift, and sustainable, upward trajectory.

Casino Construction Key to Future of Nebraska Sports Betting

It is sort of surreal that we are having this discussion. You might remember that the legalization of Nebraska sports betting got off to a rocky start. A bill was passed all the way back in 2021. It took more than two years for The Cornhusker State to assemble the infrastructure necessary to roll out sports betting operations.

On top of all that, once they finally did launch legal sports gambling, the circumstances were not ideal. As it stands, Nebraska sports betting is only allowed on tribal grounds. Sure, casinos do have Nebraska online sports betting apps that customers can download. However, the applications use geotracking data to restrict access. You cannot submit wagers unless you are on the grounds of a casino. 

This is a restrictive setup in and of itself. It is made more limited by the state of casinos in Nebraska. A handful of licensed sports betting operators in The Cornhusker State are running makeshift operations. These establishments are waiting for their new casino facilities to be constructed. Then, and only then, will the WarHorse casino locations have their permanent Nebraska sportsbooks in place. 

While this is somewhat inconvenient now, the construction phase will not last forever. Consider this excerpt from a piece by Sam Cob at 1011 Now in Lincoln, Nebraska:

“The Warhorse locations in Lincoln and Omaha are currently undergoing construction to be expanded. Once the upgraded permanent facilities open, officials said they expect interest to continue to trend upwards. ‘It’s not only going to be a resort, but a great experience for patrons to come in and have a great viewing experience,” Johnston said. “They’ll be able to play tables and slots. Hopefully we’ll have mobile sports betting approved by then, so patrons can place a bet from their phone while at the bar.’”

How Casinos Will Impact Nebraska’s Bottom Line

Indeed, brick-and-mortar wagering is not the most popular form of sports betting in the United States. On the contrary, online sports betting in the USA keeps growing in popularity. The vast majority of legal bets in the United States are processed through an online operator.

But this doesn’t mean on-site wagering will not have a huge impact in Nebraska. For starters, they do not currently offer online sports betting in Nebraska. Residents have no other option unless they are prepared to drive across state lines to use mobile sports betting apps in the United States.

Beyond this, opening new casinos will render sportsbooks in Nebraska more of a draw to customers. Right now, you will simply visit sportsbooks (or their kiosks) and leave. Upon completion of these two WarHorse casinos, this won’t be the case. There will be other gaming options as well as restaurants and entertainment venues that make casinos a destination. They may not be caps-lock RESORTS, but they will be a larger overall draw.

Think about it: If you must travel to bet on sports in Nebraska, are you going to do it when you can only visit makeshift sportsbooks and then leave? Or are you more likely to take longer trips if you can visit other venues and stick around a while? 

Make no mistake, this is a rhetorical question. Because it isn’t even a question at all.

Online Sports Betting in Nebraska Still Critical to Growth 

Despite all of the optimistic outlooks, Nebraska sports betting will ultimately peak without the legalization of online wagering. As we already mentioned, mobile sports betting apps throughout the United States are too popular, and ubiquitous, to hope that on-site wagering can permanently hang. 

Plenty of residents will be more likely to drive across state lines to use sports betting apps. Others will invest in VPNs and geotracking blockers to use sportsbooks in the United States anyway. Many will still go to Nebraska casino sportsbooks. But there is no rivaling the accessibility of sports betting online.

For what it is worth, certain officials in The Cornhusker State seem to grasp this concept. 

Just a couple of months ago, a special session discussed the legalization of Nebraska online sports betting. Yes, the measure invariably flopped, failing to garner the requisite support. But the fact it made the agenda at all speaks volumes.

To that end, most expect the push for Nebraska sports betting to add online legalization will resume in earnest during the next round of legislative discussions. Whether it’s successful remains to be seen. Opposition to it will endure.

Yet, if Nebraska sports betting is on track to earn more revenue than the previous year, it could potentially sway skeptics, those on the fence and outright opponents. Depending on when those Nebraska casinos open permanent locations, this argument seems like a given. And if that is truly the case, it would not shock us if Nebraska sports betting online was legalized in 2025.

Take a look at this list of the top online sportsbooks so you can find one that works for all of your sports betting needs: