During its scheduled monthly meeting held on May 12th, the Nebraska Racing and Gaming Commission approved a catalog of sports that Nebraskans will be allowed to wager on.
Retail sportsbooks, which are expected to start accepting bets within the next month, will be allowed to offer odds on all major league sports as well as professional bull riding, rodeo, tennis, golf, and motorsports. The list also included college sports such as football, basketball, volleyball, lacrosse, water polo, swimming, and field hockey.
However, there are no international sports included
The full list is expected to be published on the commission website this week.
Speaking of the list, Tom Sage, executive director of the Racing and Gaming Commission, said that the commission wanted to ensure that operators and the commission can handle the level of betting activity for a select catalog of sports. The commission would then consider expanding the catalog at a later date.
“We felt it was better to start out slower, with less wagering types (and) less product to bet on. This catalog more than likely will grow. I was not comfortable to put in some of the sports I did not understand.”
He also confirmed that all sports added to Nebraska’s wagering catalog of sports must have a regulatory body.
WarHorse Lincoln is expected to be the first location to allow sports betting, however, no official launch date has been confirmed.
Nebraska sports betting was first approved by voters in the November 2020 election. LB 561 was approved by the state legislature by a vote of 44-3 with then Gov. Pete Ricketts moving quickly to sign the bill into law despite his previous misgivings over casino gaming.
Official rules and regulations for the sports betting industry only went into effect in February of this year when Gov. Jim Pillen signed them into law.
According to the rules, all bets must be placed at a retail sportsbook located in a casino. No betting on college sports that involve in-state teams is allowed.
Ciaran has been working within the Gambling Industry as a deep analyst since 2019. His deep knowledge and understanding of all the gambling regulations, and processes makes him a true asset, and an always valuable point of view for Gambling Industry News, allowing us to cover every topics from a brand new perspective.