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Unfortunately for folks in the area, nothing but bad news for Oklahoma sports betting has been arriving. While people were hopeful that things would get launched at this point later this year, that won’t be happening. That fact alone has people ready to rip their hair out. Not only that, though, but Oklahoma fans are furious over the Nebraska sports betting success that we’ve seen in recent weeks.
In case you missed it, Nebraska officially legalized sports betting and saw the first wagers placed last month. From the moment that people were able to check the best-rated sportsbooks, which includes the reliable Bovada review, and place their wagers, people all over Nebraska have been rushing to get their bets in. While Nebraska may not have any professional teams, that doesn’t mean that people don’t pay attention to countless teams.
Don’t forget that Missouri is next door to Nebraska, which means people are surely going to have a ton of fandom for the St. Louis Cardinals, Kansas City Chiefs and more. With the Cardinals, they’re hoping to post a strong second half of the campaign and put themselves in a strong spot to make noise in the fall. As a whole, MLB betting should be sky-high for Nebraska for the rest of the campaign.
However, this will only add to the anger of people in Oklahoma, as they’re not going to be able to take advantage of any kind of legal betting. Earlier in the year, there was some hope that things would be able to get across the line, but that’s not going to happen. Plenty of lawmakers and officials pushed for legal sports betting to arrive, but we may need to wait until 2024 or 2025 for the laws to be flipped.
And then there was one. Missouri borders 8 other states (tied for the most). Oklahoma remains as the only bordering state where sports betting remains illegal… #LetMOPlay #moleg https://t.co/ofx2MlEWTs
— Let MO Play (@LetMOPlay) June 20, 2023
Governor Kevin Stitt wants to see sports betting arrive soon
One of the main things that should help Oklahoma down the road is that Governor Kevin Stitt wants to see sports betting arrive soon. When he was re-elected as Governor, he made it quite clear that getting things legalized was going to be a top priority for him. However, the fact of the matter is that things have not gone according to plan for him in that department, which caused people to be quite angry. Stitt is adamant, however, that he won’t rest until betting arrives.
“Let me be clear: I support sports betting in Oklahoma,” Stitt posted on his Twitter account not long ago when it came to the legalization of sports betting. “Provided that it’s fair, transparent, and the state can maximize revenue potential to invest in top priorities, like education.”
In terms of potential revenue and the betting handle, Oklahomans know that there’s quite a bit of potential for the state to take advantage of. Throughout the year, football, basketball and baseball will surely receive a lot of attention. As people in the state know, there are no pro football or baseball teams, but with the Oklahoma City Thunder being loaded with young talent, the NBA betting odds are going to be checked quite a bit if things are made legal. OKC is a great team with a bright future.
With the Thunder, all of their fans are not happy that they can’t make legal bets on their favorite team. In order for them to make that happen, people would need to travel outside of the state to get their bets in. With Missouri and Nebraska not too far, those could be two states where people from Oklahoma can travel to for their betting needs. With that said, the fact that people can’t stay home and place wagers is a joke. It’s something Stitt needs to get corrected as soon as possible.
College football officials are surely paying attention to no Oklahoma betting
Elsewhere, there’s no doubt that college football officials are surely paying attention to no Oklahoma betting as well. Right now, training camps for football teams are almost here, and this includes both the Oklahoma Sooners and Oklahoma State Cowboys. These two Big 12 programs are quite popular and always have great talent each season.
For the Sooners, they pump out elite football players each season who make their way to the NFL. With this, local citizens would love to bet on the team, but also the players once they get to the next level as well. However, without legal betting on the plate, everyone knows that Oklahoma is losing out on millions in potential revenue each fall. This is something that has to change as soon as possible.
For this fall alone, people already have their eyes on the Week 1 showdowns for both the Cowboys and Sooners. However, if people in Oklahoma want to get wagers in for either of these teams, they’re going to have to travel to Nebraska, Missouri or somewhere else to put money down on either side. One day, that will no longer be the case, but no one knows when that will be.
One step closer to football 😁
📅 July 13
⏰ 8:30 am (CT)
📺 ESPNU/ESPN+#OUDNA pic.twitter.com/QU2TLd3OXa— Oklahoma Football (@OU_Football) July 11, 2023
