Oklahoma Just Took its Next Step in the Battle for Legal Sports Betting

Peter LewisPeter Lewis | February 28, 2023
Oklahoma Just Took its Next Step in Battle for Legal Sports Betting

When will people be able to celebrate the legalization of Oklahoma Sports Betting? That’s a question a lot of people have on their minds, as they’re waiting to see if lawmakers and officials will be able to get on the same page to move forward. As things stand, there’s still a bit of work to be done between said officials and the tribal leaders in the state. However, Oklahoma just took its next step in the battle for legal sports betting.

According to a report, the new House Bill 1027 has been in the world for a little while now, which has been promising. Not only that, but that same report stated that things unanimously passed 5-0 in a House Appropriations subcommittee meeting. With this, it’s allowing Oklahoma, for now, to keep pushing forward with this particular bill in hopes that things can eventually get to a point where voting can take place.

This may not seem like a monster leap, but with the negative feedback the Oklahoma sports betting push has received in the past, plenty of people are excited about this latest development. With this particular bill, it would put legal sports betting in the hands of the tribes, allowing for both in-person bets to be made on their land, while online sports betting would also be in the cards for people.

It’s one thing for in-person bets to be an option, but online wagers being a go from the start would be massive. We’ve seen states, including Delaware, move forward with the legalization, but the full potential hasn’t been reached due to no online options being available for people. Oklahoma wants to hit the ground running with all betting possibilities, which would be massive.

Governor Kevin Stitt appears to be on board for Oklahoma sports betting

Another great sign for the state is that Governor Kevin Stitt appears to be on board for Oklahoma sports betting. For several states who still haven’t been given the green light to move forward with making things legal, the consensus is that a lot of their senators and leaders are opposed to things. However, that’s not the case for Oklahoma, as Stitt is on board and plenty of republicans and democrats are also seeing the benefits.

Republican Ken Luttrell has been pushing for sports betting for a while now, as he sees the massive potential the state has from a revenue standpoint. It goes without saying, but people would be checking the NCAAF betting odds consistently throughout the year if things go ahead in Oklahoma. College football is massive in the state, with the Oklahoma Sooners and Oklahoma State Cowboys leading the charge.

Not only that, but even though there’s no National Football League team in Oklahoma, people would of course be rushing to check the NFL betting odds each week during the season. Think about the Super Bowl, too. This past SB, it was estimated that at least 50 million Americans would place a bet on the game between the Kansas City Chiefs and Philadelphia Eagles. That number is wild to think about.

People in Oklahoma, if they wanted to bet on the matchup, would have had to travel outside of the state to place bets, or do so in illegal fashion. Luttrell and Stitt want to see that happen as soon as possible, as there’s no reason for people to travel and spend their money at local businesses in different states. Instead, it would be better for the Oklahoma economy for people to spend that cash at local shops. The lawmakers understand this now more than ever.

When could Oklahoma sports betting arrive for fans?

With all of that said, people continue to wonder when could Oklahoma sports betting arrive for fans? As things stand, there’s no set date and there’s still quite the uphill climb for things, but there is still a chance that we could see things pushed forward later this year. It’s tough to say how strong the odds are for this happening, but there’s definitely a lot more optimism thanks to the latest reports.

With Luttrell and Stitt trying to work towards getting this done, a lot of people are excited about something going down in the coming months. The fact that this new bill has made plenty of waves is also something to monitor. It feels like this particular sports betting bill is far better than ones we’ve seen in the past. This of course isn’t the first time that Oklahoma has tried to legalize sports betting – we’ve seen other bills fail in prior years, which has been disappointing to see.

This time around, though, Luttrell is feeling more confident that he and the tribes have something that everyone can be happy with. We could find out soon enough if this particular bill ends up being historic for the state of Oklahoma, as the push for legal sports betting is getting closer. People may have a big reason to celebrate soon enough. Everyone can’t wait to see how things turn out.

Peter Lewis

Peter Lewis Jr. comes from Mississippi where he and his family spend their days discussing college football and basketball. He's written sports journalism for years after studying journalism at a local university.