Nebraska Racing commission plans public hearings on multiple racetrack-casino applicants in 2026; feasibility studies required

The Nebraska Racing and Gaming Commission expects to hold public hearings in 2026 on several applications for racetrack-linked casinos, Dennis Lee told a Senate committee. Lee said the commission’s charge from the Legislature includes considering feasibility studies and that over-saturation of the market is the commission’s primary concern when evaluating new license applications.

"One of the things that we have to measure, and this is in the statute, is that we have to have a feasibility study done," Lee said, adding that prior market analysis was not informative because casinos had been open only a short time. He recommended redoing the market study before a final decision.

Lee told senators that after a voter initiative approved casino wagering tied to racetracks, the commission initially prioritized getting existing casino operations regulated and operational rather than immediately awarding new licenses. He listed several communities that submitted applications after the initiative (transcript includes Bellevue, Norfolk, McCook and Scottsbluff and has several unclear place-name references). He said the state’s model ties casino licenses to racetrack operations and that decoupling the two, as has been proposed elsewhere, could endanger local racing.

Senators pressed Lee on the commission’s approach and whether it sees room for expansion. "I do see an opportunity for expansion," Lee said, but added that feasibility and market saturation must be evaluated and that the commission will hold hearings on applicants statewide once the foundation of existing operations is stable.

Next steps: Lee said the commission will likely hold public hearings on the remaining applicants in 2026 and that staff will revisit the market study to provide more useful data for licensing decisions. The transcript contains several inconsistent spellings for a historic Omaha track and for a regional track operator; those inconsistencies were noted in committee testimony and are flagged in the meeting record.