The NRGC expects to approve the fee structure at a June 2 meetingīefore the Winnebago, or any other potential casino operator in Nebraska for that matter, can lay a single brick, the NRGC still needs to approve an application fee structure for the operators. Governor Pete Ricketts then signed off the regulations earlier this month. Things, however, took a turn for the better in December, when the Nebraska Racing and Gaming Commission (NRGC) formally gave the nod to rules and regulations for casino gambling. According to the World-Herald, WarHorse’s intention was to break ground on the Horseman’s Park site by summer 2021 and have a fully functional casino built by September 2022. Regulatory red tape has delayed any casino construction in Nebraska in the 18 months since retail sports betting got approved. Added to that is 67,000 square feet in new construction.

Warhorse Gaming’s plan for the tribe’s casino project involves major renovations to the existing Horsemen’s Park site in Omaha. The Winnebago call the Omaha project a “dynamic casino, racing and entertainment complex.” If the tribe’s plans come to fruition next spring, they will be proud owner-operators of Nebraska’s first-ever legal retail casino, a hope that emerged via a bill prompted by a voter-backed measure in 2020, which sought to expand casino gaming offerings in the state. The WarHorse Gaming representative, Drew Niehaus, said the Omaha casino should be rolled out to the public ten months after groundbreaking. The Omaha casino should be rolled out to the public ten months after groundbreaking

as giving mid-to-late summer as a likely start for the casino’s groundbreaking ceremony. The Omaha World-Herald on Monday cited a representative from WarHorse Gaming - a sub-brand of the Winnebago’s business arm Ho-Chunk Inc. The glacier-like progress of sports betting in Nebraska ever since it was legalized in the state in May 2021 has been roused from its torpor after the Winnebago Tribe revealed plans to break ground on an Omaha casino this summer.

Omaha tribe casino