Oklahoma lawmakers advanced a mobile and retail sports betting proposal Monday but the route to the state’s first legal sportsbooks remains complex.
An Oklahoma House committee unanimously advanced the sports betting legislation without debate Monday. The bill now is set to go through the full Appropriations and Budget committee.
If passed, the state’s gaming tribes would be able to open retail sportsbooks at casinos on tribal lands. The legislation would also open the door for statewide mobile sports wagering.
“This is part of a historic effort to restore the tribes’ trust in our legislature to be able to partner with us for the good of all citizens of the state of Oklahoma,” said Rep. Ken Luttrell, one of the bill’s sponsors, ahead of Monday’s vote. “That’s one of the that’s what the most exciting thing about this (bill), opening that dialogue and restoring that partnership that we have with our tribal partners on working together.”
Getting to that point is still no sure bet.
Legislative path
Should Oklahoma’s sports betting bill pass out of the House appropriations committee it still must pass both the full House and Senate. Both chambers must pass identical versions of the same bill before it can pass into law.
Republicans have supermajority control of both chambers. Like many other GOP-controlled legislature nationwide, there remains a faction of Republican lawmakers opposed to gambling in any form. Passing any sports betting bill must overcome this conservative opposition.
Oklahoma has the nation’s largest network of tribal casinos on a per capita basis. Federal law gives recognized tribes rights to certain forms of gaming with tribal lands, but such offerings are subject to approval by the state’s elected officials.
Oklahoma Rep. Rep. Ken Luttrell: “This is part of a historic effort to restore the tribes’ trust in our legislature to be able to partner with us for the good of all citizens of the state of Oklahoma,”
Gov. Kevin Stitt, who has supported the latest sports betting bill and is likely to sign it if it reaches his desk, has previously tried to rework the gaming compacts between the state and its gaming tribes. Some of these agreements’ efforts technically opened the door for legal sports betting in the state in 2021, but they were struck down by the courts after lawmakers from his own party successfully argued the deals were agreed to without consent from the legislature.
This adds another level of complexity in sports betting efforts. Stitt has tried to rework these compacts, which have among the lowest required tax contributions to the state government of any such deals in nation.
The tribes, not surprisingly, have opposed any changes. Though most Oklahoma gaming officials have been open to legal sports betting they have largely opposed any efforts that would change the fundamentals of the existing compacts.
Courts have also recently ruled these compacts exist in perpetuity unless altered, giving the tribes the upper hand in any negotiations. Even if approved by lawmakers and Stitt, and remains unclear if tribes would agree to open sportsbooks.
Oklahoma sports betting future
If Oklahoma officials clear the way for the state’s first legal sportsbooks it appears Oklahoma bettors would have plenty of legal betting options.
All of the more than 30 tribes with Oklahoma gaming compacts would have the ability to open online and retail sportsbooks if this legislation is passed. That means all major operators, including FanDuel, DraftKings, BetMGM, Cesars, Barstool, PointsBet and BetRivers, would presumably have a path to legal wagering.
Some tribes could also instead potentially partner with a third-party tech provider and create a self-branded sportsbook.
Neighboring Colorado, Kansas and Arkansas all have statewide mobile sports wagering, though Oklahoma doesn’t share any major population centers with any state. Oklahoma’s proliferation of dozens of brick-and-mortar casinos, including some of the nation’s largest, could also create one of the nation’s more robust retail sports betting markets.
Oklahoma sports betting legalization could provide a new legal betting opportunity for Texans. Texas is considering mobile sports betting legislation but likely wouldn’t have any regulated options live until 2024, if betting is approved at all.