Compelling trio of bills
An Oklahoma Senate committee has passed three strategically linked sports betting bills, one of which would give state lawmakers the belief that 2025 will be the year the pastime becomes legal.
The bill that stands out among the three passed by the Senate Business and Insurance Committee last week is Senate Bill 585, an olive branch to Governor Kevin Stitt, who has argued against giving state tribes a monopoly on the market.
Oklahoma Senate’s Majority Whip, State Sen. Bill Coleman (R-Ponca City) authored SB 585. The bill by the ex-radio broadcaster and keen sports fan will grant NBA franchise the Oklahoma City Thunder the ability to offer mobile sports betting on non-tribal land.
I’m optimistic that this is the year”
“I’m optimistic that this is the year Oklahoma’s tribes, the Oklahoma City Thunder, the governor and other stakeholders will come together to find a compromise everyone can get behind,” stated Coleman.
Strategic approach
The Business and Insurance Committee also approved sports betting bills from Sen. Dave Rader (R-Tulsa) and Sen. Casey Murdock (R-Felt).
In a statement, Coleman said the three bills were strategic and opened “several different avenues for the Oklahoma Legislature to legalize sports gaming this year.” The lawmaker upped the ante by adding that there was “a growing sense of urgency” from Oklahomans to legalize sports betting.
In addition to cutting the Thunder in, Coleman’s bill allows the 38 state tribes to offer in-person sports betting at their 143 casinos and gaming centers, while also permitting mobile betting on tribal land.
revenues estimated to be worth about $20m per year
While catering to both tribal and retail interests, SB 585 would give the state 10% of the net sportsbook revenues estimated to be worth about $20m per year.
Rader’s SB 125 will allow state tribes to amend their gaming compacts to offer online and brick-and-mortar sports betting while giving the tribes complete monopoly of the vertical.
Murdock’s SB 164, meanwhile, gives regulatory power to the Oklahoma Lottery Commission and will allow “tribes and non-tribal entities to apply for a ‘sports pools’ license.”
Big push
While Oklahoma is home to the most tribal casinos in the US and allows betting on horse racing and the lottery, Coleman has said bringing the tribes into sports betting would create “thousands of new jobs and millions in revenue to further boost our economy.”
Oklahoma can’t afford to fall behind”
“As more states legalize sports betting, Oklahoma can’t afford to fall behind,” Coleman said last week. It remains to be seen if adding the Oklahoma City Thunder, owned by Republican businessman Clayton Ike Bennett, will appease Governor Stitt’s reluctance to hand tribes total sports betting exclusivity.
In late 2023, Stitt released a controversial sports betting plan that proposed giving commercial entities the mobile sports betting market while allowing tribes to only offer the vertical via retail.