Though margins were still slim late Tuesday night, Nebraska voters were on track to reject a pair of ballot measures looking to legalise and regulate online sports betting, according to unofficial results.

Initiative Measures 440 and 441 would together amend the Nebraska Constitution and state law, respectively, to legalize and regulate online sports wagers. Initiative 440 had 239,331 votes “for” and 285,520 “against,” while Initiative 441 had 241,599 votes “for” and 283,159 “against” as of midnight.

Initiative sponsor Jordan McGrain said it was tough to make a call on either ballot measure, but acknowledged that the results as of midnight seemed to be “pretty clear.” He said similar measures that passed in other states succeeded by slim margins; however, he also said Nebraska voters did not appear to respond to the same arguments.

In 2020, Nebraskans authorised casino gambling at the state’s existing five racetracks. Under current state law, annual gaming revenue is taxed at 20%, and 70% of that amount is directed to property tax relief credits.

Since then, there have been multiple attempts in the Nebraska Legislature to legalise online sports betting, but all have been foiled. The repeated failures prompted a petition drive to put the issue on the ballot, under the group Tax Relief Nebraska.

Supporters largely argued that Nebraskans would participate in online wagering regardless of state law, which sends the tax revenue to other states like Iowa that have legalised the practice. Critics have long argued that the possible revenue benefits do not outweigh the social costs of the state effectively encouraging gambling.