Nebraska Racinos: The Laws, the Revenue and Every Racetrack Casino

How Nebraska racinos came about

For decades Nebraska had pari-mutuel horse racing, keno and a lottery but no casinos, and residents of Omaha drove across the Missouri River to Council Bluffs to play. Omaha’s Ak-Sar-Ben racetrack closed in 1995, and the state’s horse industry shrank. The horsemen’s association argued that slot revenue was the only way to keep racing alive.

In November 2020 voters agreed. Initiative 429 changed the constitution to allow games of chance at licensed racetracks, Initiative 430 created the legal framework, and Initiative 431 set the tax. Each passed with about 65 percent. The model is the classic one described in what is a racino: gaming is permitted, but only where horses run.

The laws and who regulates them

The laws restrict casinos to the state’s licensed racetracks, which in 2026 meant six locations: Lincoln, Omaha, Grand Island, Columbus, Ogallala and South Sioux City. Lawmakers passed implementing legislation in 2021, and the Nebraska Racing and Gaming Commission took over licensing of both the tracks and the casinos that sit beside them.

Each casino must be linked to live racing at its track, and every Nebraska race card includes at least one race for Nebraska-bred horses. The minimum age for casino play and race wagering is 21. Sports betting is allowed in person at the casinos, which is why every operating property runs a sportsbook or betting counter alongside its slots.

All Nebraska racinos at a glance

WarHorse in Omaha and Lincoln

The two largest Nebraska racinos belong to WarHorse Gaming, a subsidiary of Ho-Chunk Inc., the economic development company of the Winnebago Tribe of Nebraska, which partnered with the horsemen’s association. WarHorse Casino Lincoln opened first, in a temporary building on September 24, 2022, and is in the middle of a third building phase that runs to summer 2027.

WarHorse Casino Omaha opened at Horsemen’s Park on August 6, 2024 with 925 gaming positions and grew by 400 slots in April 2025. It is the top earner in the state. Both properties race only a few days a year, seven in Omaha and eleven in Lincoln in 2026, and rely on simulcasting the rest of the time.

Grand Island, Columbus and Ogallala

The Grand Island Casino Resort opened on April 10, 2025 at Fonner Park, a track that has raced since 1954. It cost about $185 million, carries about 750 slots and 20 tables, and has a 162-room hotel. Fonner’s 31-day meet in February, March and April is the longest live season in the state.

Harrah’s Columbus, run by Caesars, opened its permanent building in May 2024 with 400 slots, 11 tables and Nebraska’s only one-mile racetrack. Out west, Lake Mac Casino in Ogallala opened a temporary floor on August 19, 2025 and stages the state’s only quarter horse racing, a two-day meet each July.

South Sioux City and Atokad Downs

The sixth licensed track is Atokad Downs in South Sioux City, across the Missouri River from Sioux City, Iowa. WarHorse broke ground on a $100 million casino there on August 27, 2026. The plans call for about 600 slots, 16 table games, a 100-room hotel, a sportsbook area and an outdoor concert venue, built in two phases.

Racing returned to Atokad Downs before the casino. The commission approved five days for 2026, August 29 and 30 plus September 5 to 7 over Labor Day weekend, with four Thoroughbred races a day including one for Nebraska-breds. Admission was free, and wagering was limited to guests 21 and over, as at every Nebraska track.

Revenue and where the tax goes

Casino revenue has grown quickly. Through the first seven months of 2026, the commission’s figures showed WarHorse Omaha at $70.3 million in gross gaming revenue, WarHorse Lincoln at $55.7 million, Grand Island at $38.5 million, Harrah’s Columbus at $14.9 million and Lake Mac at $8.2 million, which puts the five Nebraska racinos well past $185 million combined.

Initiative 431 directs most of the tax to property tax relief. The commission’s July 2026 report shows 70 percent of each casino’s 20 percent tax going to the property tax credit cash fund, with 12.5 percent each to the host city and county. Smaller shares fund problem gambling services. The national picture is covered in our racino revenue overview.

The 2026 racing calendar

The schedule is staggered so one Thoroughbred circuit can move across the state, starting in the cold at Fonner and ending around Labor Day in South Sioux City. Lake Mac is the exception, a quarter horse weekend in July. Our horse racing schedule sets these meets beside the other racino states.

Nearby states

Iowa sits across the Missouri River from several Nebraska racinos, and its only racino, Prairie Meadows near Des Moines, runs a much longer live season. The Iowa racinos page explains how that state moved from three racetrack casinos to one. Further east, Illinois racinos now come down to a single track in Collinsville.

Anyone touring the region should note that Nebraska laws treat casinos and tracks as one license, while Iowa allows many casinos with no racing at all. The difference explains why Nebraska’s floors are smaller and newer. Whatever the state, it helps to set a budget in advance, and Nebraska’s helpline, 1-833-BETOVER, answers at any hour.