Nebraska Online Sports Betting Campaign Passes $21 Million as DraftKings and FanDuel Add Late Money

The Nebraska online sports betting campaign has raised about $21.7 million in 2026, almost all of it from DraftKings and FanDuel, ahead of the 3 November vote on Initiatives 440 and 441. The committee, Tax Relief Nebraska, took in roughly $7 million in the last month alone, according to filings with the Nebraska Accountability and Disclosure Commission (NADC), the state agency that collects campaign finance reports.

The money has arrived as opponents step up their push. Last week Tom Osborne and 44 current and former Huskers urged voters to reject online sports betting; that story covers the opposition's arguments and the property tax debate in detail.

Who is paying for the yes campaign

Four sportsbook operators account for nearly all of Tax Relief Nebraska's money. DraftKings (through its parent, DK Crown Holdings) and FanDuel have each put in close to $10.3 million, according to Covers. Plains Ledger, which compiles NADC data, lists the committee's 2026 receipts at $21,675,000.

*Totals from Covers. They include late contributions disclosed after the 19 October report closed; the per-company late amounts are inferred from the difference and not confirmed individually.

The pattern has held all year. The first $2.6 million, raised in February and March to pay for the petition drive, came from $1.1 million gifts each from FanDuel and DraftKings plus smaller sums from Fanatics and Roar Digital, Nebraska Public Media reported in April. The two market leaders then added $3.5 million each between late July and late September.

Where the money is going

Tax Relief Nebraska spent $6.61 million between 30 September and 19 October, its busiest stretch of the campaign, bringing its 2026 spending to about $15.8 million. It had $1.74 million in cash on 19 October, before the late contributions. Earlier filings showed the largest single expense was about $1.71 million in advertising, mostly on Nebraska's four main broadcast TV stations, according to Covers.

At $21.7 million, the campaign is half the size of the $43 million Missouri campaign that DraftKings, FanDuel and the state's pro teams funded in 2024, but large for a state of about two million people.

What the opposition has reported

The no side has spent a small fraction of that. The Nebraska Family Alliance, a conservative group opposed to gambling expansion, told the NADC it received no contributions this cycle through 29 September and spent about $2,109, mostly on postage for a voter guide.

Save Nebraska Sports, the main opposition campaign launched in September with State Auditor Mike Foley and State Treasurer Joey Spellerberg, has run a TV ad featuring both officials, the Nebraska Examiner reported. Its fundraising and the cost of the ad had not been reported in the coverage reviewed for this story. A longer-running group, Gambling with the Good Life, also opposes the measures.

What a yes vote would do

Nebraska allows in-person sports betting at its licensed racetrack casinos, under the gaming expansion voters approved in 2020. The two measures, described in the Nebraska Secretary of State's voter pamphlet, would take that online. Both must pass for mobile betting to become legal.

With six current or planned racetrack casinos, that would allow up to 12 apps statewide. Online wagering would fall under Nebraska's existing 20% tax on gross gaming revenue, of which 70% goes to the Property Tax Credit Cash Fund. Changing that split later would take a two-thirds vote of the Legislature, 33 of 49 senators, the Nebraska Examiner noted. No launch date is guaranteed: the commission must first write rules and license platforms.

Lawmakers have declined to legalize mobile betting themselves, with senators opposing mobile gambling legalization in 2024, which is why the industry turned to the ballot. The college restrictions in Initiative 441 also echo earlier fights, including a bill that sought to allow betting on college sports.

What to watch before 3 November

• Further late contributions: the total has kept rising since the last full report closed on 19 October and could grow again before polls open.
• The result: prediction market Kalshi gave both measures about a two-in-three chance of passing on 28 October, according to Covers, on thin trading volume.
• If both pass: rulemaking and licensing through 2027, with Nebraska's racinos, including WarHorse Casino Lincoln, choosing their platform partners.

Status reviewed on 29 October 2026. Contribution figures come from NADC filings as reported by Covers, SportsBettingDime and Plains Ledger; individual late contributions were not checked line by line. More legislation news and North America coverage.