Unstoppable Trio of Sports Betting Bills Gaining Momentum
Oklahoma Senate Committee Endorses Three Sports Betting Legislation Bills, One Possible Solution for 2025
Looks like Oklahoma's ready to level up their game in the world of sports betting, as a trio of strategic bills has made it through the Senate Business and Insurance Committee. These baby steps might just pave the way for sports betting to become legal in the Sooner State by 2025 [Insight 1]!
State Senator Bill Coleman, the Legislature's Riding Shotgun (R-Ponca City), penned SB 585 - the bill of choice for Governor Kevin Stitt, who's been itching to break the state tribes' monopoly [Insight 2]. What does this bill bring to the table? Well, it's giving the Oklahoma City Thunder the green light to offer mobile sports betting on non-tribal land. That's not all; SB 585 also grants the 38 state tribes permission to offer in-person sports betting at their 143 casinos and gaming centers, plus mobile betting on tribal land [Insight 3].
Thunderstruck, Coleman's optimistic that this is the year when Oklahoma's tribes, the Oklahoma City Thunder, the governor, and other stakeholders will finally strike a deal everyone finds agreeable [Insight 4].
Senators Dave Rader (R-Tulsa) and Casey Murdock (R-Felt) also joined in the fun, further opening "several different avenues" for the Oklahoma Legislature to legalize sports gaming this year [Insight 5].
Onwards and Upwards: Revenues to Soar
SB 585 keeps things fair by allowing the state a 10% cut of the estimated $20m net sportsbook revenues each year [Insight 6]. Rader's SB 125 gives the state tribes complete exclusivity over online and brick-and-mortar sports betting, while Murdock's SB 164 vests regulatory power in the Oklahoma Lottery Commission and allows "tribes and non-tribal entities to apply for a 'sports pools' license" [Insight 7].
The Big Gamble
With Oklahoma housing the most tribal casinos in the U.S. and already offering betting on horse racing and the lottery, proponents believe bringing the tribes into sports betting would create "thousands of new jobs and millions in revenue to further boost our economy" [Insight 8]. But can this concoction persuade Governor Stitt to drop his resistance? Only time will tell [Insight 9].
Insight 1: While Oklahoma has tried to legalize sports betting multiple times, conflicts over exclusive betting rights continue to stand in their way.
Insight 2: Governor Kevin Stitt has publicly opposed granting tribes exclusive sports betting rights, expressing the view that licenses should be available to other entities like the state lottery and horse tracks.
Insight 3: Coleman's bill allows state tribes to offer in-person sports betting at casinos and gaming centers, as well as mobile betting on tribal land.
Insight 4: Senator Bill Coleman is hopeful that the Thunder's involvement in sports betting will create a compromise that everyone can get behind.
Insight 5: The three bills passed by the Senate Business and Insurance Committee were strategically designed to open several avenues for sports gaming legalization in 2025.
Insight 6: SB 585 gives the state 10% of the net sportsbook revenues, which are estimated to be worth about $20m annually.
Insight 7: Rader's SB 125 will allow state tribes to amend their gaming compacts to offer online and brick-and-mortar sports betting, granting them a monopoly over the vertical. Murdock's SB 164 vests regulatory power in the Oklahoma Lottery Commission, allowing both tribes and non-tribal entities to apply for a 'sports pools' license.
Insight 8: Bringing the tribes into sports betting is seen as a way to generate thousands of new jobs and millions in revenue for Oklahoma's economy.
Insight 9: Despite Governor Stitt's reluctance, adding the Oklahoma City Thunder might just shake things up and convince him to cave. In late 2023, Stitt released a controversial sports betting plan that aimed to give commercial entities mobile sports betting rights while limiting the tribes to only offering the vertical via retail.
- If Governor Kevin Stitt's resistance toward granting tribes exclusive sports betting rights is overcome, Oklahoma might legalize sports betting by 2025, potentially generating thousands of new jobs and millions in revenue.
- State Senator Bill Coleman believes the involvement of the Oklahoma City Thunder in sports betting could create a compromise that all stakeholders, including the tribes, the Governor, and the legislature, find agreeable.
- The trio of bills passed by the Senate Business and Insurance Committee in Oklahoma, including SB 585, SB 125, and SB 164, were strategically designed to offer exclusivity to both state tribes and non-tribal entities for sports betting, with the Oklahoma Lottery Commission regulating the industry.
