Sports Betting in Oklahoma at a Standstill
“If you’re filling out a bracket and participating in an office or friends’ pool for money this week, you’re still breaking the law in Oklahoma.”
So began Michael Dekker’s exhaustive Tulsa World piece on sports betting in Oklahoma, one of only 10 states where it remains illegal.
Dekker took a close look at the debate, which comes down to Gov. Kevin Stitt on one side and Oklahoma’s tribal nations on the other.
Stitt’s proposal, introduced last year as House Bill 1027, is now dead — or at least on life support — in a Senate committee. The idea was to let Native casinos handle in-person wagers but open online betting to any company willing to pay a half-million-dollar fee and 20% of the take.
The tribes quickly point out that proposal would be illegal because gambling exclusivity is theirs.
Stitt called that a monopoly and said there should be a level playing field, but Oklahoma’s governor doesn’t control federal law.
He does, however, play a big role in gaming compacts, which would be necessary for the tribes to launch sportsbooks.
What’s not in dispute is public demand and the money is flowing to 38 other jurisdictions, including four states that border Oklahoma. Each of those states gets a cut of the action, and there’s a lot of action. In the six years since sports betting became legal outside of Nevada, states have collected about $5 billion in taxes, an average of 8.4% of each sportsbook’s take. That number has steadily increased as more states have legalized betting on sports.
In a 2022 Oklahoman story, Rep. Ken Luttrell, R-Ponca City cited a report by the Oxford Economics Group that said legal sports gambling could generate an estimated $240 million in new revenue, in Oklahoma and create 3,000 new jobs. Eighty-eight percent of that revenue would go to Oklahoma schools.
The odds are good that sports betting finds its way to Oklahoma. The tribal casinos are already betting on it; as the World reported, the Muscogee (Creek) Nation’s River Bend Casino in Tulsa and the Choctaw Casino Resort in Durant are already building in the sportsbooks.
How soon those might be put to use will depend on the tribal nations and Oklahoma’s governor — be that Stitt or a successor — finding common ground.
More worth reading:
Senate Sends Budget to House
The Oklahoma Senate laid its budgetary cards on the table Monday, passing a simple resolution that would allocate about $12 billion for the fiscal year 2025 budget. The measure now goes to the House of Representatives. [The Oklahoman]
AP: Cockfighting Trying to Make a Comeback
The reemergence of cockfighting as an issue in the Oklahoma Capitol is frustrating opponents who, until recently, considered the matter long settled. [AP]
Board of Ed Responds to Edmond Schools’ Lawsuit
Walters’ attorneys argue the district hasn’t met the burden for the state Supreme Court to assume original jurisdiction in the case. They argued the state board had acted legally within its right to set the rules. [The Oklahoman]
“Well, I’m going for a long ride today.”
— Thomas Stafford
Ciao for now,
Ted Streuli
Executive Director, Oklahoma Watch
tstreuli@oklahomawatch.org
