Every June, the college baseball world descends on Omaha. Since the familiar and historic confines of Rosenblatt Stadium closed more than a decade ago, College World Series fans watch games at the state-of-the-art (and slightly less quirky) Charles Schwab Field Omaha, also home to the Creighton Blue Jays. This year, if the timeline matches up, fans will be able to wager on their favorite teams during the event.
War Horse Casino Lincoln is aiming to take Nebraska’s first wagers more than 18 months after voters there legalized all games of chance via ballot referendum. About a year ago, lawmakers agreed that sports betting meets the definition of a game of chance and agreed to include retail betting in its expansion of gambling.
Casino executives from War Horse Lincoln — which is owned by Ho-Chunk, Inc., the economic development arm of Nebraska’s Winnebago Tribe — have their eyes on Omaha’s premier annual event.
“We would love to be able to accept bets on the College World Series,” War Horse representative Lynne McNally told the Lincoln Journal-Star earlier this month.
The goal had been to launch well ahead of the event, which begins June 15, but all off War Horse’s suppliers and vendors, including back-end operator Kambi, aren’t yet licensed. The casino and Kambi announced a deal last week.
When lawmakers built the framework for legal betting in 2022, they didn’t specifically allow for digital betting, but they also didn’t specifically ban it. Though language allowing digital wagering was stripped from the original bill, it wasn’t replaced with a ban.
Stakeholders say that retail is clearly legal and it will likely take legislative action to legalize digital wagering. Nebraska’s legislature is set to adjourn June 9 and has not taken up the issue of online sports betting, meaning that 2024 appears the earliest that form of wagering could be legalized.
Three casinos set for gaming, not wagering
According to Nebraska Racing and Gaming Commission (NRGC) Executive Director Tom Sage, War Horse, Grand Isle Casino, and Harrah’s Columbus Casino have been awarded gaming licenses, but none have asked for sports betting approval just yet.
Nebraska’s new law allowed for an expansion of gaming in addition to sports betting. In response, multiple casinos are being built or adding square footage around the state.
Last Friday, the NRGC took a major step toward launching wagering when it approved a limited bet menu, which includes college baseball, NCAA sports, professional football (NFL, CFL, USFL, IFL), the NBA, the NHL, professional golf (including the LIV Tour), auto racing, tennis, and UFC. The three-page menu also has some oddball sports like bowling, bull riding, rodeo, rugby, and surfing. With the exception of the CFL, every other sport has a governing body based in the United States.
Almost time for #sportsbetting in Nebraska https://t.co/dZobCJxYoo
— Just Jeremy (@JOfromNebraska) May 12, 2023
Noticeably absent are Olympic sports and international soccer (the EPL, Italian Serie A, German Bundesliga, etc.). That could mean no wagering on this summer’s UEFA Champions League Final or the FIFA Women’s World Cup — and, potentially, the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris.
“We have a lot more on our menu than we thought we would go with,” Sage told Sports Handle. “We were told to go very small. Colorado has one of the largest, and Wyoming is pretty close. I really wanted to start off with sports I knew and keep it small.
“The catalog is a living, breathing thing, the commissioners approved the catalog but agreed that if there is an additional request, it gave me the authority to approve that and have it ratified at the next meeting. To change our catalog, we’re going to make it pretty simple. It was done to get a catalog out.”
Sage went on to say, for example, that as soon as Kambi and War Horse go live, a request to expand the menu could be made. And the expectation is that operators will continue to request new events and the catalog will grow as wagering proliferates across the state.
College betting will be a bit tricky
With the current bet menu, the trickiest part appears to be how operators will manage the Nebraska college rule. As is the case in Massachusetts, it’s not a straightforward ban on betting on Nebraska college teams.
According to Sage, bets cannot be placed in Nebraska for collegiate games involving Nebraska teams that are played in Nebraska. However, if a Nebraska team is playing out of state, a bet can be placed. Sage offered the example that if Iowa State was playing at Nebraska, no bets could be taken, but if Nebraska was playing at Iowa State, wagering would be available.
Operators will have to be diligent to avoid taking illegal bets, as those in Massachusetts have already learned. In the Bay State, betting on Massachusetts college teams, no matter where they are playing, is banned unless a team is playing in a tournament with four teams or more.
In Nebraska, one of the first and biggest potential opportunities for confusion will be with college baseball should either Creighton or Nebraska advance to the postseason. While it does’t appear that either will make a deep run, if the current standings hold, Creighton would participate in the Big East Championship in Ohio with a chance to advance, while Nebraska would play in the Big 10 Championship in Omaha with an opportunity to extend its season.
