Watchdog calling for an investigation into online wagering petitions in Nebraska

A national group is asking the Nebraska Accountability and Disclosure Commission to investigate potential international influence in the funding for Tax Relief Nebraska, the committee aiming to legalize and regulate online sports wagering with two ballot measures.

FanDuel and Roar Digital, a subsidiary of MGM, have donated more than $3.5 million combined to Tax Relief Nebraska. Michael Teter, executive director at the Legal Accountability Center, which filed the complaint this week, said the two gambling giants are owned by companies with leadership and headquarters in Ireland and the United Kingdom. That’s enough to warrant an investigation, he said.

“We're concerned that the information that we do have that's publicly available would indicate that there is a need to investigate,” Teter said, “because outside of those two entities meeting the exception within the statute, then it is a violation of the law.”

Teter said the center aims to uphold the rule of law and free and fair elections, and it’s indifferent about the contents of the petitions themselves. As for the two exceptions to state law, those would include proof of where the money and decision came from.

“The dollars cannot be coming from, either directly or subsidized by, the foreign entity,” Teter said. “And then, they cannot be controlling the strategy and the decision, whether or not to make the contribution.”

Teter said accounting and internal communication could prove where the money came from and who made the final call.

There are other red flags, he said, due to the wide reach of the two betting companies in Nebraska. FanDuel has donated at least $25,000 to Attorney General Mike Hilgers’ campaign since 2025. He, along with Gov. Jim Pillen, have each received $70,000 from casinos in Nebraska and online betting or daily fantasy sports platforms since last year.

“We're concerned that Nebraska is not applying the laws even-handedly, as it relates to these outside organizations that have contributed, not just to these campaign ballot measures, but then also to office holders, including the governor and the attorney general,” Teter said.

WarHorse Casino is publicly supporting the online betting petitions and owns and manages two casinos in Nebraska: one in Omaha and one in Lincoln.

Lynne McNally, director of government relations at WarHorse, said the company has never worked with someone from outside the U.S.

“We have worked with particularly two people in leadership with FanDuel, and they are very much United States-based. There's no question,” McNally said. She said she hasn’t worked with MGM directly.

McNally said the sports betting initiatives have wide support, “which is why they're trying to identify these non-issues that are just based entirely in fantasy.”