Online gambling in Nebraska is still off limits for now. In the meantime, we recommend staying away from illegal offshore online casino sites. A legal alternative is social and sweepstakes casinos. These sites offer most of the games you'd find at a real money site and, while you play with virtual coins, you still have the chance to win cash prizes.
No. Nebraska hasn’t banned gambling entirely, but best online casinos for sports and casino games remains prohibited. It remains to be seen if that will change anytime in the near future.
For now, social casinos are a great alternative for those looking for a similar experience to NJ casino apps. These sites are completely legal and feature table games and online slot machines very similar to the ones you’d find at a real casino. These social casinos are allowed in Nebraska because it’s not technically gambling – you don’t have to deposit any money to sign up and start playing.
Social casino sites such as WinStar, LuckyLand and Chumba add tokens and sweeps coins to players’ accounts for free when they sign up. Players can use the tokens for table games like blackjack and slot machines. They can use the sweeps coins to win prizes and even real money – these winnings count as sweepstakes wins rather than gambling wins. Hence the term “sweeps coins.”
It’s a great way to practice these games with no risk and have fun with a little online blackjack or slot machines. They can also lead to actual prizes and are a perfectly legal option in Nebraska.
We haven’t seen a huge push for legal online gambling in Nebraska. Proposed legislation has sought to re-classify sports betting and internet poker as games of skill, rather than gambling. These bills could bring legal sports betting Nebraska if successful.
Online casino gambling is a different story, and Nebraska hasn’t shown any willingness to explore real-money online casinos in recent years.
Casino | City | Address | Hours of Operation |
---|---|---|---|
Iron Horse Bar and Casino | Emerson | 1106 Main St | 10 a.m.-10 p.m. |
Lucky 77 Casino | Walthill | 200 Main St | 10:45 a.m.-2 a.m. |
Native Star Casino | Winnebago | 1501 Industrial Rd | 8:30 a.m.-1 a.m. |
Ohiya Casino and Resort | Niobrara | 53142 NE-12 | 10 a.m.-12 a.m. |
Rosebud Casino | Valentine | 30421 US-83 | 24 hours/7 days a week |
The Iron Horse borders the Winnebago Indian Reservation and includes 89 slot machines and electronic games. The restaurant offers a full menu with daily specials, including Saturday prime rib, and a full bar.
This Omaha Tribe gaming facility is a no-frills space with roughly 60 electronic bingo games in Walthill. There’s also a snack bar with food and soft drinks.
The Native Star is part of a larger gas station/plaza, with a separate area for gaming. This casino area has around 80 gaming machines and also includes a smoking section.
Owned and operated by the Santee Sioux Tribe, the Ohiya is the largest casino property in Nebraska. There are more than 400 gaming machines and live bingo every Thursday and Sunday. There’s also a hotel, entertainment center with live music and comedy acts and several dining options.
The Rosebud is another casino/hotel property with several amenities. The casino includes 250 slot machines and electronic games, as well as the Rosebud Room restaurant with a full menu and buffet.
It’s hard to say considering Nebraska doesn’t allow commercial casinos. Licensing for online gambling would be totally unprecedented in the state, and it’s difficult to know how they would oversee the application and regulation process.
For now, social casinos are readily available and legal in Nebraska. There are several top options to choose from and social casinos include a lot of games very similar to those featured at real-money online betting sites.
Mobile casino apps are all the rage these days in states with legal online gambling. Any state that allows it will certainly see mobile casino apps follow. These apps are easy to download on your iOS or Android device and provide all the familiar table games and slot machines you’d find at an online casino. The difference is they’re now accessible from your cell phone, which makes it extremely convenient to play your favorite games from anywhere in the state.
Nebraska already has five tribal casinos with land-based slot machine options. But online slots are convenient and popular in states with legal online gambling. Most have very similar visuals and formats to the familiar land-based versions.
Nebraska could potentially include online poker as a game of skill with any future sports betting legislation. That would mean legitimate, regulated internet poker sites could operate and players would be free to play for real money against others online in popular games like Texas Hold’em.
Nebraska does have a state-run lottery with popular games like Mega Millions and Powerball. But unlike most states, it’s still illegal to purchase lottery tickets online. All games and tickets must be purchased at land-based retailers.
Online roulette plays just like the table game version, so strategies like the Martingale and James Bond methods can be applied with the same odds. The online version of the game allows roulette players to move at their own pace, as they can now decide when to start the wheel as opposed to the dealer.
Online blackjack is one of the most popular table games at online casinos and social casinos. It’s a great way to try to build a steady profit over time or practice different situations like when to double down or split eights. The hands move fast and you never have to worry about other players at the table.
Live dealer can apply to any table game that uses a remote video stream of an actual dealer rather than an automated dealer. Some people prefer the visual of the dealer and seek these games out, but they’re not available at every online casino in regulated states and wouldn’t necessarily be available to Nebraska players even if the state were to legalize online gambling.
Credit and debit cards remain the most familiar payment options for most players with legal, regulated betting sites. Top online casinos are increasingly able to take these cards for deposits, but some banks still block the transactions even in legal states from time to time. Ask your bank about any problems should they arise.
PayPal is another convenient option. Players can simply deposit funds from their existing PayPal account or sign up in minutes if they don’t already have an account.
Similarly, the Play+ card works as a solid go-round for any bank issues. Players can add money to a Play+ card online with a credit card or bank account and use that to deposit into their casino account. Players can withdraw winnings back on to the card and access the cash at ATMs.
Other e-wallets like Skrill work essentially the same way as PayPal – you’re simply moving the deposit from a third party instead of your personal bank account.
If you run into any issues with your first deposit attempt, there are multiple ways to safely add money to your casino account using any of these methods.
Once a player decides they want to try an online casino, they should make sure to shop around for different promotions and sign-up incentives. These bonuses are basically free money for new players and would be readily available in Nebraska should the state legalize online gambling. Be sure to read the terms and conditions for all bonuses.
Free spins, for example, are great for online slot machine players. Online casinos will add a certain number of coins for free spins upon sign-up, and gamblers can use them to play slot machines with no risk. They’ll keep any winnings in their account as if it were any other type of casino profits.
Matched bonuses are another popular first-time incentive and work very simply. However much the player deposits, the casino will match up to a certain amount. If the player deposits $500, the casino will also add $500 and the player will start with $1,000 in their account. Matched bonuses typically have substantial playthrough requirements and not all games count 100% toward meeting the requirements. Again, be sure to check the gambling site’s terms and conditions.
Some sites will also offer a online casino no deposit bonus, which is typically smaller than a matched deposit (around $25 or so) and have minimal requirements to cash.
After receiving a sign-up promotion, players can earn additional bonuses by referring a friend. Some casinos will add bonus funds to a player’s account for every additional person they refer to the online casino. While the new player might need to wager a certain amount before those bonus funds kick in, it’s still a great opportunity to boost the bank account.
These are just a few examples of the popular bonus offers out there. Make sure to look around and see what you can find before signing up with an online casino.
Voters approve initiatives to legalize casino gaming at licensed horse racing tracks and create a state regulatory bodyto govern and license Nebraska casinos.
A bill for daily fantasy sports is introduced.
A petition for a commercial casino is revealed to have invalid signatures, so fails to gain traction.
Two proposed casinos are blocked and voted down by the state.
A state lottery is approved by vote.
Simulcast betting is legalized.
Charitable raffles and lotteries are also legalized.
Charitable bingo is legalized in North Dakota.
Pari-mutuel betting is legalized, allowing for horse racing bets.
No, gambling online in Nebraska remains off limits. But social casinos are a great way to play the same games and potentially win real money or other prizes.
The legal gambling age in Nebraska is 18 for horse racing and bingo, 19 for lottery and 21 at tribal casinos.
Some sites advertise social casinos, which are perfectly legal in Nebraska. Any site advertising for real-money casino games in Nebraska would be offshore gambling site. We recommend avoiding those as they operate with no regulation in the US.
Nebraska gamblers can get action at horse racing tracks, tribal casinos, bingo halls and lottery distributors.
Any gambling winnings over a certain amount would be subject to state income tax on a sliding scale up to 6.84%.