Sports betting in Nebraska inches closer as state reports $2.8M in tax revenue from slots in 2022

As revenue from slot machine players continues to roll in, Nebraskans are a small step closer to placing the first legal sports wagers in the state.

Tom Sage, executive director of the state’s Racing and Gaming Commission, said the framework of rules for sports betting approved by commissioners in October has cleared review by the Attorney General’s office.

Gamblers and others file into the temporary Grand Island Casino Resort at Fonner Park for the first day of gaming on Tuesday, Dec. 27, 2022.

Sage said the rules will now go to the governor’s office for review beginning next week. Once Gov. Jim Pillen signs off, a process that could take several weeks, they will be submitted to the Secretary of State’s Office and become official approximately a week after that.

Given all of the steps needed, it’s unlikely sports betting will be legal in Nebraska by the time the Super Bowl kicks off in February. And while March Madness could be the state’s introduction to legal betting, the better odds are on wagers being legal by the time college football begins and the NFL resumes in the fall.

In setting up the rules, the Legislature required that all sports wagers be made at casinos operating at the state’s licensed horse racing tracks, which for now includes only the temporary spaces at WarHorse Lincoln and Grand Island’s Fonner Park.

Those casinos generated a little more than $2.8 million in tax revenue from slot machine wagers last year, most of that coming from WarHorse Lincoln, which opened in September. The casino at Fonner Park generated just more than $97,000 in gaming taxes in its first five days of operation.

The Grand Island casino opened Dec. 27 with approximately 260 slot machines.

Sage on Friday provided updated numbers that show the Grand Island casino produced an additional $127,000 in gaming taxes in the first week of January.

“I am not surprised that the emergence of a casino on our concourse level has gone so smoothly. I have had great faith in our casino partner, Elite Casino Resorts,” Fonner Park CEO Chris Kotulak said in an email. “I’m also delighted that the first report of revenue numbers has been so good, but I’ll be overjoyed when I can start routing money into purses for our races to become more attractive to regional horsemen.”

The opening of the casino in Grand Island did seem to draw some business from WarHorse Lincoln, which saw revenue drop for the third month in a row.