Nebraska ballot measure · November 3, 2026
Nebraska Initiative Measure 440, explained
Constitutional authorisation for online sports wagering. A ballot measure is a yes-or-no question put directly to voters — no candidate is involved, and the wording on the ballot is the wording that becomes law. This page shows that wording first, then what it actually changes.
The official wordingWhat appears on the ballot. Everything below explains it.
The Attorney General's certified ballot title had not been published at the time of writing. The object statement circulated on the petition reads: "The object of this petition is to amend the Nebraska Constitution to state that laws may be enacted allowing sports wagers to be placed within the State of Nebraska through an Internet-based platform offered by an authorized gaming operator." The amendment itself would add to Article III, Section 24(5) the words "including sports wagering through the Internet if the person placing the sports wager is located within the State of Nebraska at the time the wager is placed."
What it actually means
Nebraska's constitution bans games of chance except where it specifically allows them. Voters carved out an exception in 2020 for gambling inside licensed racetrack enclosures, and the Legislature used that to authorise sports betting at the five racetrack casinos, which opened in June 2023. Betting from a phone is not covered. Measure 440 would widen the constitutional exception to include internet sports wagering by someone physically in Nebraska. On its own it authorises nothing — it only removes the constitutional bar so the Legislature may act. Measure 441, the companion, is the statute that would set the rules and taxes.
If you vote YES
- Article III, Section 24(5) would extend to laws licensing, authorising, regulating or taxing "sports wagering through the Internet if the person placing the sports wager is located within the State of Nebraska at the time the wager is placed."
- The Legislature — and, if Measure 441 also passes, that initiated statute — could permit online sports betting without a further constitutional change.
- Betting apps would still have to be tied to an authorised gaming operator, which in Nebraska means one of the five licensed racetrack casinos.
- Everything else in Section 24 is unchanged: the state lottery and its earmarks, parimutuel horse racing, charitable raffles and bingo all stay as they are.
- The geolocation limit is written into the constitution itself — a wager placed from outside Nebraska would not be covered.
If you vote NO
- Article III, Section 24 keeps its present wording, and the constitutional exception for gambling remains limited to games of chance conducted inside a licensed racetrack enclosure.
- Sports betting stays legal only in person at Nebraska's five racetrack casinos, as it has been since June 2023.
- The Legislature could not authorise online sports betting without first putting another amendment to voters.
- Measure 441, the regulatory and tax statute, would have no constitutional basis to operate on even if it passed.
- Nebraskans would keep crossing into Iowa and other states to place mobile bets, as they did an estimated 40,000 times in a year according to blocked-access data presented to the Legislature.
The numbers that matter
- Where sports betting is legal in Nebraska now
- In person at five licensed racetrack casinos, since June 2023
- States with legal online sports betting
- 31 and Washington, D.C.
- Signatures submitted
- More than 201,000, against a requirement of about 126,000
- Reported campaign funds
- $6,237,500 for; $0 against
Nebraska Gaming Commission licensing under the 2020 constitutional amendment and 2021 legislation
Ballotpedia's survey, 2026
Tax Relief Nebraska filing, June 2026; an initiated constitutional amendment needs signatures from 10% of registered voters
Campaign finance reports through July 31, 2026, as compiled by Ballotpedia; the figure covers both sports betting measures
What each side says1 for, 1 against — quoted, not summarised
Why supporters say YES
"We believe voters will agree that a legal and regulated online sports wagering marketplace will keep the money in Nebraska, generating new revenue for local communities and millions of dollars in property tax relief."
— Jordan McGrain, sponsor of the measure, for the Tax Relief Nebraska campaign
Why opponents say NO
"To tell voters this is about tax relief, when the proposal is actually a major expansion of online gambling financed by out-of-state gambling companies — whose own estimates show less than a quarter of one percent in property tax relief — is a complete sham and raises serious questions about election integrity."
— Nate Grasz, executive director, Nebraska Family Alliance
What's genuinely uncertain
- The Attorney General's certified ballot title, which is the wording voters will actually read, was not available to us. What is quoted above is the petition's object statement and the text of the amendment.
- Measures 440 and 441 are separate questions. The amendment can pass without the statute, or the reverse, and what happens in that case would be for the Legislature to sort out.
- Revenue estimates vary and none is official. A casino industry representative told the Legislature's General Affairs Committee in 2024 that Nebraska loses about $30 million a year in tax revenue to states with online betting; opponents put the property tax relief at less than a quarter of one percent. No state fiscal note was published.
- Spending is one-sided: through July 31, 2026, Tax Relief Nebraska reported $6.24 million in contributions — $3.54 million each from DraftKings and FanDuel and $250,000 from BetMGM's Roar Digital — while the opposing committee, Save Nebraska Sports, reported nothing.
- The initiatives faced legal challenges over signatures during 2026; the Nebraska Supreme Court declined one challenge in early September and was scheduled to hear another later that month.
The bottom line
Whether the constitution should allow the Legislature to legalise betting from a phone anywhere in Nebraska — tax revenue that now goes to Iowa, against making gambling reachable everywhere rather than only at five casinos.
One neutral sentence describing the tradeoff — not a recommendation.
Sources (3)The numbers in the text above link here
- 1Secretary of State certifies ballot measures for 2026 general election — 10/11 NOW (KOLN) — wowt.com
- 2Here are the statewide ballot measures on the November ballot — Nebraska Public Media — nebraskapublicmedia.org
- 3Nebraska Allow Laws Authorizing Online Sports Wagering Constitutional Amendment (2026) — Ballotpedia — ballotpedia.org
Checking it against the official text
The Nebraska Secretary of State publishes the certified measures and, in most states, an official voter guide with fiscal notes. That is the authoritative version. Everything here is an explanation of it, not a substitute for it.
Confirm this with the official source
Your ballot is determined by your election authority, not by us. Verify your registration, precinct, and sample ballot at Nebraska Secretary of State.
Other measures on the Nebraska ballot
Candidates on the same ballot
- U.S. Senate election in Nebraska
- Nebraska governor's race
- Nebraska's 1st congressional district
- Nebraska's 2nd congressional district
- Nebraska's 3rd congressional district