Oklahoma sports betting bills stall before legislative deadline
Two sports betting bills have stalled in Oklahoma’s current legislative session having not been considered before the 8 May deadline.
House Bill 1047 and House Bill 1101 made it to the Senate floor in late April after passing the Senate Business and Commerce Committee by 8-1 and 6-3 votes. This marks the third session in which attempts have been made to legalize sports wagering in Oklahoma.
Rep. Ken Luttrell and Sen. Bill Coleman are the two leading figures pushing for the bills to be passed, and despite this delay, Luttrell believes that they are now closer than ever. The main sticking point at the moment is mobile gaming regulations.
In an interview with the Journal Record, Lutterell said, “They asked us not to push it on through this year to give them time to come up with a consensus to put some guardrail in place on the mobile portion of sports betting. We didn’t want to overregulate and tell the tribes how to run it. They’re still meeting and in discussions about it with the Oklahoma Indian Gaming Association to try and come up with what they want it to look like.”
HB1047 would have allowed Oklahoma tribes to offer internet sports betting by creating a Model Tribal Gaming Compact, granting tribal operators sole authority over Class III gaming. HB1101 would allow Oklahomans to vote on the legislation if the other bill failed.
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