Sports betting begins at Horsemen's Park in Omaha

Sports betting — the legal variety — has come to Omaha.

WarHorse Gaming launched its sportsbook Wednesday at Horsemen's Park, 63rd and Q streets. Betting will take place in a temporary building on the racetrack infield until the casino opens next fall.

​Already, simulcast horse race betting had been relocated to the small mobile building during construction. Simulcast means wagering on horse races televised in real time from other tracks.

The launch of sports wagering gives people in the Omaha metro area a more convenient in-state location to bet on games. Prior to the opening, the closest state-sanctioned sportsbook was at the WarHorse Casino in Lincoln.

Casino gambling and sports betting is available across the river in Iowa, but revenue generated there stays in Iowa. Online sports betting is not allowed in Nebraska.

"We think it's going to be exciting, especially for people who have to go to Iowa right now, to be able to do it right here in Omaha," said Lance Morgan, chief executive officer of Ho-Chunk Inc., the parent company of WarHorse and the economic development arm of the Winnebago Tribe of Nebraska.

The launch of sports betting is just a "tiny first step" toward future plans on the Omaha site, he said.

"What we're building in the permanent facility is going to be incredible. It's something, I think, people can take great pride in."

In addition to the Lincoln casino, WarHorse is building a casino, racing and entertainment complex in Omaha — an investment of about $250 million. The project includes renovating the existing Horsemen’s Park complex and adding nearly 67,000 square feet in new construction and expansion.

Meantime, customers can place a bet at one of 10 electronic kiosks or at the WarHorse Sportsbook window inside the temporary building.

WarHorse has an app available on its website, which a gambler can use to build a bet, but bets must be placed in person.

For the record, the first legal sports bet placed in Omaha was on the Nebraska Cornhuskers football team.

Ken Mallory, a tribal council member of the Winnebago Tribe of Nebraska, bet $100 that the Huskers would beat Michigan State on Saturday. 

Mallory said he was thankful to partner with the Nebraska Horsemen's Benevolent and Protective Association "for us to have the opportunity to share in this city's prosperity."

"It means a better quality of life for the people that we serve and represent," he said.

David Anderson, vice president of the Nebraska Horsemen's Benevolent and Protective Association, placed two bets.

"One bet I made on my favorite team, which is Nebraska," Anderson said.

He bet them to win.

"You want to know what my second favorite team is? It's anybody that plays Iowa."

He bet on Northwestern to beat Iowa.​

He said Nebraska has been losing gambling dollars to Iowa.

"If we had gotten this done 10, 15, 20 years ago, that money would have been here in Nebraska versus going to Iowa," he said.

Saturday's Husker football game will be played away, so betting on the game is legal under state law. However, bets on home games involving Nebraska pro and collegiate teams are not legal.

A three-season tent has been added beside the temporary building at Horsemen's Park to provide extra room for expected crowds. Sports bets must be placed inside the building, however, and guests must show an ID.

Under state law, wagers must be placed in-person or at a wagering kiosk in the designated sports wagering area at the licensed racetrack enclosure. People must be 21 or older to enter the area.

There are currently no casino games such as table games or electronic games of chance on the Horsemen's Park site. Those won't be offered until the new casino opens.

Lynne McNally, chief executive officer of the horsemen's association, said the goal is to make the temporary facilities as nice as possible until the casino opens.

Morgan said construction of the WarHorse casinos in Omaha and Lincoln has been a "heavy lift" for Ho-Chunk.

"We're spending a lot of money on re-doing the old Horsemen's Park building, and we're also building a huge parking garage, and we're adding on to that building in a couple of areas," he said.

In November 2020, Nebraska voters approved ballot Initiatives 429, 430 and 431 to allow for casino-style gambling at licensed horse tracks.

Legal sports betting kicked off in Nebraska June 22 with the opening of a sports book at WarHorse Casino in Lincoln.

Grand Island Casino Resort in Grand Island launched sports wagering Aug. 23.​

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