Chris Boline
In recent weeks, people in favor of Oklahoma sports betting have lost hope after legislation basically shot down the chance of things being made legal this year. However, you never know what might end up happening down the road and the Big 12 changes could put extra pressure on Oklahoma sports betting to be made legal sooner than later. In case you missed it, the NCAA’s conferences are blowing up right now.
As soon as the news broke that UCLA and USC are going to be leaving the Pac-12 to join the Big Ten starting in 2024, the rumors and reports of other teams leaving their current conferences has started to explode. This includes multiple Pac-12 teams being linked with a potential move to the Big 12. This would obviously be something to watch for the college teams in Oklahoma.
Both the Oklahoma Sooners and Oklahoma State Cowboys are powerhouses in the Big 12 and form one of the best rivalries in the midwestern part of the USA. Expansion could be coming soon, as teams like Washington State, Oregon State, Oregon, Washington, Stanford, Cal and more have been linked with a potential move to either the Big 12 or Big Ten.
With USC and UCLA starting things off, no one knows what the future has in store for the Pac-12. However, this could also lead to colleges leaving elsewhere too. There could be a domino effect in this one, which will have an impact on Oklahoma and Oklahoma State. This will only have more people checking out the NCAAF odds on a consistent basis through the major sportsbooks. This would result in more betting for the state.
OFFICIAL: USC will join the Big Ten Conference in 2024.
— USC Trojans (@USC_Athletics) June 30, 2022
Oklahoma leaving for the SEC is also massive
One thing to keep in mind here too is that Oklahoma leaving for the SEC is also massive and people haven’t stopped talking about it. Come July of 2025, Oklahoma will officially be in the same conference as Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Auburn and other major powerhouses. This is wild to think about, but it’s the new landscape for college sports coming soon.
With that said, there’s still three more years of Oklahoma playing in the Big 12 and they’re hoping they can not only make a splash in that conference, but at the national state as well. With Lincoln Riley leaving the school to take over as head coach as USC, that means that it’s now on Brent Venables to try and lead the charge for the Sooners. Venables was a home-run hire for the Sooners.
The fanbase and alumni are excited about his future leading the team. There’s going to be a tremendous amount of pressure for him to deliver for the Sooners, but Oklahoma sure has the pieces to get the job done. Again, he’ll have three more years to impress in the Big 12, and then he’ll be making his way to the SEC to compete with Nick Saban, Kirby Smart and others.
As soon as Oklahoma’s move to the SEC is complete, people will be circling their calendars for when the Sooners will take on Alabama and Georgia. The Crimson Tide and Bulldogs are two of the best teams in all of college football. People would love nothing more than to make bets on those games. For now, though, things are still illegal for sports betting. The rush to get things legalized will increase here.
Me and mine vs. you and yours. #OUDNA pic.twitter.com/YIFQD2YA7X
— Oklahoma Football (@OU_Football) July 9, 2022
When could Oklahoma sports betting be made legal?
People continue to ask themselves the following question: When could Oklahoma sports betting be made legal? That’s up in the air and hope was definitely lost when it was announced that the sports betting bill died and didn’t pass through the state’s officials. This disappointed a ton of people, including top politicians who were hoping for change. That didn’t happen, which left people scratching their heads.
“It’s truly an economic issue for the tribes and for the state,” Republican Ken Luttrell said via the Ada News. “We’re missing millions of dollars in revenue each week. Oklahomans are sports bettors whether they’re doing it online, under the table or journeying out of state placing their bets. We should be participating in that income and using that revenue for public education and for core services.”
As you can see from that quote from Luttrell, he’s not happy about the potential revenue that Oklahoma is leaving on the table. He and other politicians know just how much money could be brought to the state if betting was made legal. The longer Oklahoma waits to get something done, the more money they lose out on. It’s as simple as that.
With Oklahoma moving to the SEC in 2025, and more teams from the west coast potentially joining the Big 12, even more money could be lost from sports betting if nothing gets done. Oklahoma as a whole needs to keep pushing for things to be given the green light. Sports betting in limbo, similar to Texas, should be the case for sports fans in the state.
