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Former Nebraska football coach Tom Osborne and more than 40 other current and former Huskers are opposing two measures that would legalize mobile sports betting in Nebraska.
The proposals would expand wagering beyond in-person racetrack casino sportsbooks and direct a share of betting tax proceeds to property tax relief.
Huskers’ Letter Raises Athlete Safety Concerns
A letter released by Save Nebraska Sports warns that online sports betting would put student-athletes, Nebraska families and the integrity of college athletics at risk, according to Nebraska Public Media.
Alongside Osborne, signers include coaches Ron Brown and Mark Manning, former players Turner Gill and Roy Helu Jr., and multiple current Nebraska baseball players.
The letter cites concerns about game manipulation, gambling advertising and harassment directed at athletes over losing wagers. Those are the opposition group’s arguments, not findings that the proposed measures would produce those outcomes.
“No student-athlete should face harassment or threats because gamblers lost money on a game, a play, or a parlay,” the letter says.
The signers also criticize the role of out-of-state gambling companies: “They see our state as another market and every phone as another casino,” the letter says.
Proposals Pair Nebraska Mobile Betting With Property Tax Relief
Tax Relief Nebraska turned in more than 201,000 signatures in late June for a proposed constitutional amendment to legalize online sports betting. It collected 146,000 signatures for a second petition establishing a regulatory framework to tax wagers and direct 70% of the tax proceeds to property tax relief.
Nebraska currently requires all sports wagering to take place in person at one of the state’s five racetrack casinos. The proposals would allow betting apps to operate through partnerships with established racetrack casinos.
Platforms such as DraftKings and FanDuel would also have to run a gaming server within Nebraska. These are proposed requirements, not an announcement that either operator has received approval to launch.
The report does not establish whether the measures have qualified for the ballot or provide a final outcome. For bettors, the distinction remains important: the proposals describe a potential expansion of access, while the reported rules still require in-person wagering.
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Source: As reported by Nebraska Public Media.
