DraftKings, FanDuel pump $7M more into Nebraska vote

• DraftKings and FanDuel each add another $3.5 million to Tax Relief Nebraska.
• Campaign fundraising climbs to $14.65 million ahead of the November 3 vote.
• Two linked ballot measures would allow up to 12 mobile sportsbooks statewide.

DraftKings and FanDuel have each put another $3.5 million into Tax Relief Nebraska, the committee behind the state’s online sports betting ballot push.

The fresh $7 million lifts the campaign’s fundraising to $14.65 million less than a month before voters decide on November 3, its latest campaign finance filing shows.

$7M each and counting

The two market leaders have now each given just over $7 million in total, far more than any other backer. Their latest checks arrived after the measures had already qualified for the ballot. The money is now going into winning votes, not collecting signatures.

BetMGM added $250,000 in the latest reporting period, taking its total to $500,000. Fanatics has contributed $75,000 and reported nothing new this time.

The committee spent about $2.29 million in the period and closed September 29 with $5.43 million in cash. Advertising was its biggest investment at $1.71 million, most of it going to the state’s four major broadcast TV stations.

DraftKings and FanDuel opened the petition drive with more than $1.1 million each in February and March, according to Nebraska Public Media. The Secretary of State certified both measures in August. The amendment had at least 138,473 valid signatures and the statute at least 96,918.

Two skins per racino

Initiative Measure 440 would amend the Nebraska Constitution so lawmakers can authorize online sports wagering. Bets could only be placed by people physically located in the state.

Initiative Measure 441 sets out the market design. Each of Nebraska’s six licensed racetracks could partner with no more than two online sportsbooks, leaving room for up to 12 mobile brands. Those platforms would have to run their servers inside Nebraska.

The Nebraska Racing and Gaming Commission would write the rulebook, with a deadline of June 1, 2027. The ban on betting on Nebraska college teams playing in the state would remain.

The cap makes racino partnerships the real prize. WarHorse Casino, the in-state backer of the campaign, has already contracted with FanDuel, DraftKings and MGM, its director of government relations Lynne McNally told the Nebraska Examiner. Caesars, which runs a retail sportsbook at Harrah’s in Columbus, already has an online sports betting partnership in place.

Nebraska currently allows retail sports betting at its racetrack casinos (racinos), but mobile wagering is prohibited. That puts the state behind neighbors Iowa, Kansas and Colorado, which already run regulated online markets.

Selling the tax break

Tax Relief Nebraska has built its pitch around property tax relief. An industry analysis projects $86.9 million in online sports betting tax revenue over the first five years, with $60.9 million going to property tax credits. Over ten years, it puts property tax relief at $166.2 million, assuming a 2027 launch.

The statutory measure sends 70% of online sports betting tax revenue to relief. That is the same share already taken from casino gaming taxes in the state.

Supporters point to the casino model as proof it works. Nebraska’s five racetrack casinos generated more than $52.3 million in gaming tax in 2025, according to state records cited by the Nebraska Examiner. Roughly $36.6 million of that went to property tax credits.

Opponents dispute the numbers. Their arguments in the official voter pamphlet say online betting would send money to out-of-state companies and expose teenagers to aggressive advertising. They also say it would raise athlete harassment and deliver no meaningful tax relief.

The Nebraska Family Alliance, which leads the opposition, has reported no financial contributions this cycle. Its campaign is running against a seven-figure ad budget.

The Secretary of State’s office is holding public hearings on both measures in each of the state’s three congressional districts, a required step before the vote.

Sports contracts already live in Nebraska

A loss would not lock DraftKings and FanDuel out entirely. Both already offer sports event contracts in Nebraska through their prediction market platforms. That model remains contested across the US.

In September, Connecticut ordered nine prediction market platforms, including Polymarket and Robinhood, out of Connecticut. DraftKings and FanDuel, licensed sportsbooks in that state, were not among them.

For now, a $14.65 million campaign built on a property tax message is the industry’s best route to a licensed Nebraska market. November 3 will show whether the effort pays out.