Legal Sports Betting Brief: Nebraska, Hawaii, Rhode Island

Nebraska’s online betting effort dies after hours of heated opposition and procedural delay.
Hawaii’s sports betting bill faces a make-or-break May 2 deadline in conference committee.
Rhode Island’s bid to open its market beyond a lottery-run monopoly has been temporarily postponed.

LINCOLN, Neb. – Legislative efforts for sports betting this past week have resulted in some last-minute changes for states. While Nebraska mobile betting apps didn’t make progress, there is still hope for Hawaii, who is counting down the days until the session ends. As for Rhode Island, they have time to modify their legal sports betting industry, despite a hearing being postponed.

Filibuster Stops Nebraska Online Sports Betting Effort

Nebraska’s latest attempt to legalize online sports betting through a 2026 ballot measure has failed. Despite an initial 27-16 vote in favor, the measure LR20CA needed 30 votes and ultimately was not brought to the floor again after intense opposition.

Sen. Brad von Gillern filibustered for hours, and multiple lawmakers, including Sen. Robert Dover, raised problem gambling claims, linking the future of Nebraska online sportsbooks to suicides and event manipulation.

The defeat ends legislative efforts for 2025, though a citizen-led initiative remains a theoretical “if” moving forward.

Hawaii Sports Betting Countdown

HB 1308, the Hawaii sports betting legislation, continues to move through the legislative process, with a critical conference committee now formed to reconcile differences between the House and Senate versions.

The committee, which includes appointed Senate conferees Sen. DeCoite (Chair), Sen. Keohokalole, and Sen. Kanuha, has until May 2 to finalize a unified version.

While earlier expectations suggested smooth concurrence and a signature from Gov. Josh Green, the House has not yet accepted Senate amendments, creating last-minute uncertainty in the Aloha State’s legalization push.

Rhode Island Sports Betting Reform Delayed, Not Dead

In Rhode Island, SB 748 – a bill aimed at breaking the state’s sports betting monopoly and opening the market to at least five competing sportsbooks – was scheduled for a hearing but was postponed along with all other committee meetings that day.

While the delay has paused progress, there’s no indication yet that support for the bill has waned. Stakeholders await a rescheduled hearing as Rhode Island sports betting projects future changes to its lottery-controlled betting landscape.

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Michael Molter

After spending time scouting college basketball for Florida State University under Leonard Hamilton and the University of Alabama under Anthony Grant, Michael started writing focused on NBA content. A graduate of both schools, he now covers legal sports betting bills, sports betting revenue data, tennis betting odds, and sportsbook reviews. Michael likes to play basketball, hike, and kayak when not glued to the TV watching midlevel tennis matches.