Nebraska Voters Reject Online Sports Betting After $22.5m Sportsbook Campaign

DraftKings and FanDuel supplied most of a campaign that raised nearly $22.5 million, and unofficial returns leave Measures 440 and 441 nine to 10 points behind. Three Indiana counties refused a casino the same night, and two Virginia wagering questions were trailing.

• Nebraska voters rejected Measures 440 and 441 on unofficial returns, with 45.1% and 45.5% in favour and 96% of precincts fully counted
• Tax Relief Nebraska had raised nearly $22.5 million by 29 October, up from $14.65 million in early October, with DraftKings' parent and FanDuel giving $10.4 million each
• Sports betting in Nebraska stays in person at racetrack casinos, and the state constitution stops the same initiative returning within three years
• Allen, DeKalb and Steuben counties in Indiana refused an inland casino by between 58.7% and 64.6%, and the law bars a second question in each
• Amherst County and the town of Pulaski in Virginia were voting against Churchill Downs' route to new Rosie's venues, with Amherst separated by 183 votes

Nebraska Said No to Both Halves of the Online Betting Package

The Nebraska Secretary of State's unofficial results, last updated at 4:20am Central on Wednesday, show Initiative Measure 440 at 324,828 for and 396,050 against, or 45.1% to 54.9%. Initiative Measure 441 stood at 327,844 for and 392,980 against, or 45.5% to 54.5%. Of 1,322 precincts, 1,269 were fully counted and the other 53 partly counted.

Both had to pass. Measure 440 would have amended the constitution to allow online wagering through operators tied to licensed racetracks. Measure 441 would have set the rules under the Nebraska Racing and Gaming Commission: a 20% tax on gross gaming revenue, 70% of it for property tax relief, and two skins per operator.

Sponsor Jordan McGrain said the midnight results seemed "pretty clear", according to the Nebraska Examiner. Lynne McNally, government relations director at petition backer WarHorse Casino, told Nebraska Public Media: "It's gonna continue to be the Wild West out there."

The Money Sat Almost Entirely on One Side

Tax Relief Nebraska raised nearly $22.5 million through 29 October, RG reported from filings cited by the Examiner, with $10.4 million each from DK Crown Holdings and FanDuel Inc., about 92% of the total. Fortune, using an earlier Nebraska Accountability and Disclosure Commission report, put spending at $15.83 million; a final total is not yet available.

The opposition, Save Nebraska Sports, was led by Nate Grasz, executive director of the Nebraska Family Alliance, and backed by State Auditor Mike Foley and Treasurer Joey Spellerberg. Former coach Tom Osborne and more than 40 other current and former Huskers signed a letter against the measures. Spellerberg called the fight a "David and Goliath" matchup and said his side was outspent 20-1.

Indiana's Northeast Refused a New Casino in All Three Counties

Each county voted on Public Question No. 3, which in Allen read: "Shall inland casino gambling be permitted in Allen County?" The Indiana Election Division's uncertified results show Allen at 61,310 against and 41,625 for (59.6% against), DeKalb at 7,374 to 4,043 (64.6%) and Steuben at 6,234 to 4,394 (58.7%).

The Indiana Gaming Commission therefore cannot award the licence created by House Enrolled Act 1038, which carried $150 million in fees and a $500 million investment requirement. Applications would have been due by 1 December.

Virginia's Rosie's Questions Trailed, One by 183 Votes

Amherst County and the town of Pulaski were each asked: "Shall pari-mutuel wagering be permitted" there "at satellite facilities". Neither was a casino vote as such, but a yes would have let Churchill Downs pursue Rosie's Gaming Emporium venues.

Virginia Department of Elections results show Amherst at 7,057 against and 6,874 for (50.66% against) and Pulaski at 1,463 to 1,128 (56.46%), with all precincts in. Cardinal News reports provisional and postmarked mail ballots remained uncounted, with certification on 7 December. Amherst rejected the idea by 8.2 points in 2021.

Property Tax Relief Could Not Carry a Sportsbook Bill

The campaign raised close to $69 for every yes vote on Measure 440, and its central promise was small when divided up: a 2025 fiscal note for a similar bill projected $9.2 million in year one and $20.4 million by 2029, which InGame calculated at roughly $5 to $16 a homeowner. Spellerberg said voters understood the benefit would be negligible, and Grasz said the push was "never about lowering property taxes". Totals cannot prove motive, but the result echoes California's 2022 rejection of the DraftKings and FanDuel-backed Proposition 27, and the state's tribes now plan a 2028 measure that leaves standalone online operators out.

Nebraska Keeps Its Betting Demand and Loses the Tax

Racetrack sportsbooks generated about $9.28 million in gross gaming revenue in 2025, up from $4.71 million in 2024, according to commission figures cited by Fortune. The vote does nothing about mobile demand: GeoComply reported blocking 4.5 million attempts by Nebraskans to reach out-of-state sportsbooks between July 2023 and June 2024. McNally's "Wild West" is an interested party's phrase, but the channelisation question stays open. Article III of the constitution bars the same measure by initiative "more often than once in three years", which on its face rules out a repeat petition in 2028. The clause does not cover a question referred by the Legislature, which declined to act in 2024 and 2025.

Indiana's No Is Harder to Undo

Nebraska's bar expires; Indiana's has no date. The statute says a second public question "under this section" may not be held in a county that refused, so a fresh attempt would need a new act. The state forgoes the $30 million to $40 million a year fiscal analysts estimated for its general fund, and Full House Resorts, which first sought to move its Rising Sun licence north, has no route there under this law.

Money can put online betting on a ballot without persuading the voters who then read it. The next campaign will need a stronger case than a modest property tax credit.