Things are not looking good on the Oklahoma sports betting front.
Granted, this will not come as a major surprise to anyone who has closely followed the legislative process. Two bills that aim to legalize sports betting in Oklahoma have appeared on the table for deliberation. And make no mistake, there is a real interest throughout the Sooner State in the legalization of sports gambling.
Even so, the initiatives are dripping in controversy and stalemates—and have been since the beginning. While optimism permeated talks earlier this year, that hope is beginning to fade. The Oklahoma state legislature is currently scheduled to adjourn on April 25, just says from this writing. Time is no longer a friend to these talks. And without very few updates on the discussions taking place, we can’t help but wonder whether the push to legalize sports betting throughout Oklahoma is headed for yet another letdown.
That leaves us to ask the same question we’ve posed over and over again. What’s the largest roadblock impeding the legalization of Oklahoma sports betting? By now, the answer is complicated. It’s also reflexive.
Issues Continue to Arise Over the Approved Methods of Oklahoma Sports Betting
Everyone in the industry is well aware that the biggest obstacle facing Oklahoma sports betting remains the relationship between Governor Kevin Stitt and his office and the state’s tribes. However, this rift is often painted as an issue of respect and communication.
Governor Stitt still receives flak for his previous attempts to amend gaming compacts to include Oklahoma sports wagering for select tribes instead of collaborating with the vast majority of them. And to be sure, the bad vibes from this debacle do linger—on both sides of the fence. But it’s not just the manner in which Governor Stitt has tried and continues to try pushing through sports betting. This is also about his desire to have top online sportsbooks in the United States enter the Oklahoma market.
As it stands, tribes in the Sooner State have exclusivity over all gaming rights. That’s why their support is essential to sports betting legalization. And though they no doubt want the opportunity to generate additional revenue, they don’t want to compete for market share with the FanDuels and DraftKingses of the USA.
This isn’t an especially unique stance, either. Among the 38 states that have legalized some form of sports betting, more than a handful have opted for tribal-only models. Take sports betting in Florida for example. While it’s legal in the Sunshine State, it’s only offered by Seminole Tribe casinos and their Florida online sports betting app.
Of course, this setup has led to extensive litigation that’s still ongoing now. But there are other states in similar boats—minus the controversy. Sports betting in Nebraska, for instance, does not include online sportsbooks. The same goes for sports betting in Wisconsin. And so on and so forth.
State Representative Believes Current Oklahoma Sports Gambling Legislation Would Violate Gaming Compact with the Tribes
Many have wondered whether the Governor Stitt-backed sports betting bill has a chance of passing this year despite the dueling dynamic with tribes. This initiative would issue in-person and online sports betting licenses through the Oklahoma Lottery Commission. Tribes would be eligible to receive one, but they would have to negotiate sports betting compacts with the governor. After that, they must receive approval from the Oklahoma Legislature’s Joint Committee on State-Tribal Relations.
If tribes are going to accept the legalization of Oklahoma online sports betting, it’s not going to be like this. Not only does the new proposal increase their market competition, but it strips them of a level of control—of certainty. And you can forget about this measure being successful without their support.
As State Representative Ken Luttrell recently told Carmen Forman of the Oklahoma Voice: “The compacts are simply written and very plain that [Governor Stitt] cannot do that. We’ve granted exclusivity to the tribes to operate gaming, and sports betting, by definition, is gaming.”
The Wait for Oklahoma Sports Betting Decision is Almost Over
Even if you’re not thrilled with how the latest Oklahoma sports betting push turns out, we should have a resolution soon enough. The state legislature will adjourn for the year before April closes out.
For the optimists, all hope technically isn’t lost. The latest Oklahoma sports betting bill advanced through the House of Representatives. However, it must still be approved with majority support from the Senate.
To this is “unlikely” might be an understatement. In fact, Rep. Luttrell told the Oklahoma Voice that he would be “surprised” if the initiative even received a committee hearing.
This obviously doesn’t bode well for Oklahoma sports legalization in 2024. To be honest, if you could wager on it, we’d bet against it. From our vantage point, the legalization of sports gambling in the Sooner State will remain a pipe dream until Governor Stitt improves his working relationship with the majority of the state’s tribes—or leaves office altogether.
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