People in north-central Nebraska adamantly struck down two ballot measures that would have legalized online sports wagering.
Measure 440 would have created a constitutional amendment that made online sports betting legal in the state, while Measure 441 would have created rules and authorized the Nebraska Racing and Gaming Commission to regulate it.
Across the state, more than 54% of the voters said no to the initiatives. In 2020, 65% of the state’s voters approved in-person casinos at horsetracks.
“I think we finally got the message out that this was a lie,” Pat Loontjer with Gambling with the Good Life said. “They were being told a lie, just like we were in 2020, and then when they finally figured it out, they voted no.”
Gambling with the Good Life is an organization aiming to limit the expansion of gambling in Nebraska. The lie, Loontjer said, was the promise of property tax relief from online sports betting. The organizing committee in favor of the initiatives called itself Tax Relief Nebraska.
“It was just ridiculous that we could even consider that there was any property tax relief,” Loontjer said.
