Oklahoma Taking Steps To Legalize Retail Sports Betting

• An Oklahoma retail sports betting bill was approved by the House Budget and Appropriations Committee
• If approved by the Oklahoma House and Senate, tribal casinos will be able to offer retail sports betting
• Tribal casinos must amend their gaming compacts to offer retail sports betting

An Oklahoma retail sports betting bill was approved 28-3 this week by the House Budget and Appropriations Committee. If approved by the state legislature, Oklahoma tribal casinos could amend their gaming compacts to offer retail sports betting.

Bill HB 3008, introduced by Rep. Ken Luttrell, would legalize retail sports betting at Oklahoma tribal casinos with amended gaming compacts. The bill must first be approved by the Oklahoma House by March 24 and then be sent to the Senate for approval no later than April 14. It then needs to be signed into law by Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt.

Oklahoma Sports Betting Will Create New Jobs

In a press release after filing the bill, Luttrell said the time is right for Oklahoma to partner with tribes to ensure a level and competitive playing field with surrounding states that offer sports betting.

“Illegal sports betting occurs throughout Oklahoma, and figures I obtained from the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation show 11 offenses recently with tens of thousands of dollars seized,” Luttrell said. “This reflects only a fraction of what actually occurs in our state. The Oxford Economics Group estimates that legal sports betting would generate $240 million in revenue for Oklahoma and create over 3000 direct and indirect jobs. This legislation just makes sense.”

The bill sets the Oklahoma retail sports betting tax rate at 10%.

Potential 2023 launch?

If approved, retail sports betting would launch no earlier in the state than Nov. 1, 2022, according to the bill. However, it’s likely retail sports betting would not launch until 2023, as interested Oklahoma tribal casinos would have to amend their gaming compacts to allow for retail sports betting.

An amendment to a tribal casino gaming compact must be submitted and approved by the U.S. Department of the Interior, a requirement under the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act and approval can take upwards of 45 days. Once approved, the U.S. Department of the Interior must then publish the amended tribal compacts the Federal Register, which in certain cases can take upwards of three months.