Oklahoma bill looks to implement Gov. Stitt's sports betting plan

Legislation

Oklahoma bill looks to implement Gov. Stitt's sports betting plan

Monday 19 de February 2024 / 12:00

⏱ 1 min read

(Oklahoma City).- While the Super Bowl is just days away, fans in Oklahoma still can't legally bet on the big game. But state lawmakers aren't giving up hope. Two new sports betting bills were filed ahead of the 2024 session.

Oklahoma bill looks to implement Gov. Stitt's sports betting plan

A bill that can be considered by lawmakers looks to implement a legalization plan that was rolled out by the governor in the fall. Tribal nations took issues with that plan because it doesn't guarantee them the exclusive rights to oversee mobile sports betting.

State Sen. Casey Murdock filed Senate Bill 1434, which could enable the State Lottery Commission to roll out mobile sports betting.

"Really takes that vision that the governor outlined and is breathing life into it legislatively, and it outlines what the governor was talking about," said Geoff Zochodne, a sports betting journalist at Covers.

The Oklahoma Indian Gaming Association has said compacts are clear, and all gaming should be controlled exclusively by the tribes.

"When they push back on something like that, it can be very hard to pass a bill, to get buy-in and momentum for legal sports betting, so that could very well be the case here in Oklahoma," Zochodne said.

While stakeholders on all sides are open to passing some sort of sports betting bill, nothing will make it into the endzone until all powers in Oklahoma are on the same page.

"You are probably going to need some kind of alignment with them and agreement with them if there’s going to be a breakthrough on sports betting," Zochodne said.

A bill to legalize sports betting did pass out of the House last session, but it was never assigned to a committee in the Senate.

Categoría:Legislation

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País: United States

Región: North America