Oklahoma Sports Betting Hopes Officially Dead for 2025

• Two House-approved sports betting bills will not move forward in the Oklahoma Senate
• Oklahoma lawmakers will study the issue over the summer
• Discussions will likely pick up again in 2026

---

Another state with hopes to legalize sports betting in 2025 have seen their efforts go down the drain.

Two pieces of House-approved Oklahoma sports betting legislation will not move forward in the Senate. The Senate adjourned this afternoon without taking up the pieces of legislation.

Today was the final day in the Oklahoma session for bills to be approved on third reading, thus ending any chance the Sooner State had to legalize sports betting in 2025.

Oklahoma Sports Betting Bills Die

Rep. Ken Luttrell’s (R-37) sports betting bills, both approved last month in the House of Representatives, will no longer be considered. It puts an end to Oklahoma’s attempts to legalize sports betting this year, though even if the bills had received approval they still had an uphill battle to become legal.

The reason? Gov. Kevin Stitt (R) made it no secret he was not a fan of any of the pieces of introduced sports betting legislation this year. The governor did not support legislation that provided Oklahoma tribes with exclusive control over sports betting, instead favoring a “free market solution” for the state.

“None of the bills that have moved off the floors of the House or Senate have gotten my input on them. As a matter of fact, they’ve excluded the Governor of the state of Oklahoma from these discussions. When they say that all stakeholders have come to the table and agreed on something, the taxpayers that are represented by the Oklahoma Governor has not weighed in on those things,” Stitt previously said.

The bills, HB 1047 and HB 1101, are identical and would have allowed Oklahoma tribes to amend their gaming compacts to allow in-person and online sports betting on tribal lands only. However, HB 1101 included a provision that would have sent the issue to state voters in 2026 if HB 1047 was vetoed by Gov. Stitt.

So, What Happens in 2026?

Where does this leave Oklahoma sports betting efforts? It’s clear that lawmakers and Gov. Stitt will have to be on the same page for a proposal to work, and that means finding a way to appease state tribes and outside sports betting operators. Gov. Stitt has made it clear he hopes to see a sports betting market with a number of operators to provide Oklahoma customers with a variety of options.

None of the sports betting bills introduced this session came close to what Gov. Stitt envisioned. He introduced a sports betting bill last year, which would have required all available online sports betting licenses go through a public bidding process to maximize revenues for the state. His plan would have allowed for outside operators to bid for licenses, as well as the state tribes, who would have to pay a licensing fee like any other operator if they were awarded an online sports betting license.

However, Oklahoma tribal casinos would have exclusive control over retail sports betting, which would have been taxed at a 15% rate.

His plan never received a formal vote.

Only one other piece of legislation – Sen. Bill Coleman’s (R-10) bill, SB 585, the “Thunder Bill” – even allowed outside interests to participate in sports betting.

Coleman’s bill, SB 585, which was approved by the Senate in late March, was the only sports betting bill introduced this session to allow for an outside license holder. His legislation allowed the 38 recognized Oklahoma tribes to offer retail sports betting at tribal casinos and online sports betting on tribal lands, but also allowed the Oklahoma City Thunder to acquire a sports betting license.

According to the document, the Thunder would “have the right to sublicense the event wagering license to one tribal-approved operator for mobile and in-person event wagering on nontribal land.”

The “Thunder Bill” came in front of the Senate in late March and was initially defeated by a 24-22 vote, as the legislation needed 25 votes to move forward. Coleman, however, called for a motion to reconsider later in the day’s hearing and another vote was approved.

The Senate then approved the bill by a 25-21 result.

However, Coleman withdrew the bill before it could be heard before a House committee.