Online sports betting petitions cleared for circulation after more than a month of waiting
By Aaron Bonderson 
, Reporter/Producer Nebraska Public Media
Feb. 13, 2026, 2:59 p.m. ·
The final language for two petitions aimed at legalizing and regulating online sports betting in Nebraska has been approved and the petitions are now ready for circulation.
Lynne McNally, government relations director at WarHorse Casinos, which has backed the petition, said circulators will start collecting signatures soon.
“If you're a citizen interested in signing the position, you should see somebody out and about within the next week or two,” McNally said.
The petitions will be at major events, the post office and at WarHorse casinos in Omaha and Lincoln, as well as at the state’s other casinos:Grand Island Casino Resorts, Harrah’s Columbus and Lake Mac Casino Resort in Ogallala, she added.
Petitions were originally sent to the Nebraska Secretary of State’s office on Jan. 9. Nearly one month later on Feb. 4, the office sent recommendations back to the Sports Betting Alliance, a national sports wagering group sponsoring the petition.
One petition creates a constitutional amendment to legalize online betting while the other creates changes to state statute and outlines rules.
Much of the original language remains the same, including requiring casinos and the betting platforms to operate a server located in Nebraska and a limit of two platforms per casino. Those platforms, like DraftKings, FanDuel, BetMGM, Caesars Sportsbook and many others, must “submit controls for approval” to the Nebraska Racing and Gaming Commission. Sports betting is presently legal in Nebraska, but only at sportsbooks at licensed casinos.
It also gives the commission a deadline to “adopt and promulgate rules and regulations for sports wagering through an online sports wagering platform on or before June 1, 2027.”
A petition attempting to amend the Nebraska Constitution would need valid signatures from at least 10% of people registered to vote in Nebraska, or about 125,000 voters. For the second petition that aims to create the state statute, organizers would need to collect valid signatures from just 7% of people registered to vote in Nebraska, or about 88,000 voters. Both petitions would need to collect valid signatures from at least 5% of the registered voters in at least 38 of Nebraska’s 93 counties.
Signatures are due four months prior to the general election, which would be July 3.