WarHorse Casino Wants Nebraska Online Sports Betting

Tribal-operated casinos are not usually in staunch support of online sports betting legalization. On-site traffic and volume is too important to their business models. In the push for Nebraska online sports betting legalization, however, WarHorse Casino is flipping the script.

Operated by the Winnebago Tribe of Nebraska, who brought the first-ever casino to The Cornhusker State, WarHorse casino is also home to one of the region’s few sportsbooks. Right now, online sports betting in Nebraska is only legal on tribal property. Unless you’re at a casino that has both a sportsbook and a Nebraska online sports betting app, you cannot place wager using your mobile device.

On the surface, this works in favor of the WarHorse Casino. It ensures that bigger and more popular online sports betting sites in the United States do not operate in the market. This, in theory, restricts the amount of competition with which they must contend.

Yet, officials in charge of running the casino appear to disagree.

“The bottom line is, you're allowing tax money to go to Iowa, Kansas, Colorado, just like with the casinos,” Chief Executive Officer of WarHorse Casino, which operates in Lincoln and Omaha, Lynne McNally recently told Nebraska Public Media. “People are using VPNs, and they're disguising their location, pretending they're in Iowa.”

One has to wonder whether the legalization of online sports betting in Kansas roughly three years ago is serving as the driving force of this stance. The Sunflower State’s operations now give Nebraskans plenty of other alternatives if they live close to state lines. Indeed, many prospective customers are likely closer to one of the neighboring regions than they are a casino with a sportsbook.

Sports Betting in the United States Happens Also Exclusively Online

It isn’t just the laws of neighboring states prompting WarHorse Casino to advocate for Nebraska online sports betting. It is the reality of the entire industry.

By the end of 2025, many experts estimate that well over 90 percent of all sports betting wagers will be processed through a mobile betting site. That is a monopoly-sized share, and it impacts markets, like Nebraska, without any online options.

Sure, casinos in Nebraska are currently the only game in town. But how much does that matter when consumers are more conditioned to bet on sports remotely? Not everyone is capitalizing on online sports betting in Kansas, online sports betting in Colorado or online sports betting in Iowa. The ones who don’t, though, aren’t always inclined to visit WarHorse Casino. Depending on where they live, they are just as, if not more likely, to just not bet on sports altogether.

Failing that, these people will turn to offshore betting sites as a workaround. Complicated still, the rise of sports prediction markets has given Nebraskans yet another alternative. These transactions are not considered the same as traditional sports betting. They are portrayed as “trades,” which means they are subject to federal oversight rather than state regulation. Regardless, the endgame is the same: Users invest money in the outcome of a sporting event, and they win money if their hunches pan out.

All things considered, the latest sentiments from WarHorse Casino are an acknowledgment of industry (or industry-adjacent) trends. Even in markets that have legalized online sports betting, there are too many opportunities to bet online anyway for brick-and-mortar operations to maximize their earning potential.

The Appetite for Nebraska Online Sports Betting Remains Mixed Among Policymaker

Whether all of this reasoning resonates with state policymakers remains to be seen. Some are sympathetic to WarHorse Casino’s logic. But as Matthew Waters writes for Legal Sports Report, support for Nebraska online sports betting is far from in the bag:

“Senator Eliot Bostar introduced a constitutional amendment that would legalize online sports betting in Nebraska. Bostar estimated Nebraska missed out on $32 million in annual tax revenue from online betting. It passed its first committee vote despite plenty of opponents speaking against the amendment. One of the no votes in committee came despite the senator knowing casino groups would bring their own referendum. The amendment needed three separate two-thirds votes in the state’s unicameral legislature. It passed the first vote but was then filibustered, with opposition bringing up the addictive nature of online sports betting. Bostar pulled the legislation when it was clear he did not have the votes to end the filibuster. The amendment carries over to the 2026 legislative session. Governor Jim Pillen is in favor of legalizing online sports betting.”

Concerns over the addictive properties associated with online sports betting are perfectly legitimate. States across the country are grappling with the downside of unfettered sports betting accessibility.

Proponents argue, however, that people are finding ways to bet online regardless of where they live. And with prediction markets now running rampant, we’d expect legislative opponents’ stance against regulated online sports betting to soften.

It is too early to tell whether this will be the case for Nebraska online sports betting. But WarHorse Casino is expected to spearhead a separate mobile sports betting initiative during the next round of legislative sessions. Their intimate involvement in any Nebraska online sports betting pitch is bound to pique curiosity. As for whether it also sways legislative opinion, we’ll just have to wait and see.

Take a look at this list of the top online sportsbooks so you can find one that works for all of your sports betting needs: