Will Nebraskans up the ante on sports betting for the Olympics?

Sports bettors in Nebraska will be able to wager on this year's Olympics for the first time since gambling was legalized almost four years ago.

Bryan Kinne used to visit Las Vegas often, making 13 different trips over the years. Now he eats lunch at the Elite Grand Island Casino Resort every day.

“I made the first sports bet that was made here,” Kinne said. “I bet on Nebraska football and they lost.”

He’s excited to watch swimming and track during the Paris games, which start July 26.

“I'll watch the Olympics, you bet. I probably won't wager on it but I'll watch it,” Kinne said.

Nebraska needs to continue to offer sports wagering, he said.

Along the back wall of the casino, saddles, boots, photos and newspaper clippings highlight the history of horse racing at Fonner Park.

Scattered throughout the new casino — in front of the horse racing archive — are bright, noisy slot machines, a patch of table games and a sportsbook.

Nebraskans can bet on college football, college basketball, pro sports and now the Olympics inside one of the four operational facilities across the state.

Columbus, Omaha, Grand Island and Lincoln all offer sports wagering with temporary casinos open in all of those locations. South Sioux City and Hastings also have permits approved for a casino through the Nebraska Racing and Gaming Commission.

Handball, surfing, field hockey and proposition bets like which country will win the most gold medals are open season for wagering. Team USA is a heavy favorite for the ladder at -670, according to Warhorse Casino Lincoln.

That means it would take risking $6.70 to win $1 when betting on the U.S. China is the second most likely to take the most golds at +450 odds, meaning a customer could win $4.50 by betting $1.

Savannah Schaaf is a sportsbook supervisor in Grand Island. The amount of bets placed on could be bolstered by the lack of other options, she said.

“I think it'll be huge right now just because it's kind of slow," Schaaf said. "We don't have football. That's kind of our main sport people bet on right now."

Based on the latest sports gambling data from the NRGC, the Grand Island casino made about $7,000 for the month of May and is in the red so far this year for sports gaming.

During that same period, the state as a whole earned $1.7 million in total sports betting revenue.

That’s taxed at 20%. Of those taxes, 70% goes toward state property tax relief and 25% to local economic development. The state’s general fund and the Compulsive Gamblers Assistance Fund get the remaining, smaller chunks, 2.5% each.

Year-to-date, that’s about $238,000 from sports gambling going toward property tax relief.

Creighton University economics professor Ernie Goss said the Olympics may have a negative effect on the Nebraska economy.

“Events like that will have fairly significant impacts on sports betting, but not as much as you might expect in terms of the casino revenues,” Goss said.

Goss wrote a study examining the impact of sports gambling in Iowa.

He said people will leave the state and cross into Iowa where mobile betting is allowed and more sports are up for grabs. There are a total of 19 casinos in Iowa. Unlike in Nebraska, Iowa casinos are not required to be built on a horse racetrack.

Of the nearly 40 states with legal sports gambling, Goss said Nebraska is one of four not allowing mobile and online wagering. Mobile gaming is legal in Kansas, Colorado and Wyoming as well.

The NRGC also restricts betting on in-state collegiate teams when they play inside the state, including Husker football home games.

For the Olympics, Nebraskans staying in-state to gamble won’t be allowed to bet on individual athletes under the age of 18, according to the NRGC. Sports scored by judges, except for surfing, will also be excluded. Artistic gymnastics, artistic swimming and likely skateboarding will be restricted.

People will not be able to bet on negative outcomes on the field, according to interim director of the NRGC, Casey Ricketts.

“No wagers are going to be offered relating to any penalties, injuries, or any other factors beyond the scope of the sporting competition itself,” Ricketts said.

The air-tight laws are designed to ensure integrity and fairness in sports and the wagers, Schaaf said.

“As time goes on and progresses and we show that we can have integrity and play the game fairly and we don't have any issues with that down the road, then the restrictions will become lighter,” Schaaf said.

Elite Grand Island does not post its odds online to discourage proxy betting which is prohibited, Schaaf said. The casino does not want to expand to online gaming, either.

Once the Grand Island casino expands to its 37,000 square foot building next year, Schaaf said it will offer more sports wagers.

In Lincoln, the Warhorse Casino has grossed nearly $1.4 million from sports gaming from January to May this year.

Jason Johnston is the sportsbook manager at Warhorse. For the upcoming Paris Games, odds haven't been published yet for many popular Olympic sports like basketball, track and swimming, he said.

“I would anticipate with the Olympics starting around, I believe the Friday ceremony is July 26, we'll start to have a better foundation of what odds will be looking like probably a week or so out,” Johnston said.

Warhorse posts its odds online and customers can “build their bets” from a computer or phone and then scan the betting slip at the casino.

Johnston said he expects bettors to place money on USA basketball, with the men seeking their fifth consecutive gold medal and the women looking for eight straight golds. He said soccer will likely be popular, too.

Johnston said the 2024 Paris Games will pale in comparison to other big sports betting events like the Super Bowl.

“I will say that football and March Madness are kind of a beast of its own. I don't anticipate the Olympics to compete against those two specifically,” Johnston said. “I do think the Olympics can be a successful addition to the catalog.”

Mobile wagering would free up people to bet from anywhere in the state and even in Paris, Johnston said.

As Nebraskans wait for sports betting to grow, Iowa has generated $2.4 billion in the last year from online sports gaming alone.

Goss said Nebraska will follow suit.

“I would bet within two or three years, Nebraska will allow online betting,” Goss said.