Oklahoma Tribes Frustrated With No Sports Betting Movement

Peter LewisPeter Lewis | September 9, 2022
Oklahoma Tribes Frustrated With No Sports Betting Movement

Stop us if you’ve heard this before, but the delay in terms of Oklahoma sports betting supporters getting their wish has continued to upset so many people out there. Not only that, but you already know that the Tribal casinos also aren’t happy. Matter of fact, the Oklahoma tribes frustrated with no sports betting movement shouldn’t come as a surprise to a single individual out there.

Earlier this year, there was a motion put in place to try and get sports betting legalized. This would have been massive for the tribes in the state, as they would have then had the opportunity to have the sportsbooks launched in their locations, with people getting ready to take a look at kiosk options as well. Instead, the motion died on the table and local government officials made it quite clear they were in no rush to make something happen.

Ever since the announcement was made that the sports betting motion wasn’t going to move forward, there have been virtually no updates on possible changes coming for 2023. Because of this, a report states that the tribes as a whole are becoming quite annoyed with all the uncertainty surrounding the future of sports betting potentially landing in Oklahoma. At this point, no one knows what’s going to happen.

The local citizens aren’t happy either, which is understanding. They believed there was a strong chance they’d be able to check the top NFL betting odds this fall and make their wagers in peace. Instead, they’re still playing the waiting game, which no one wanted to see at this point in the year. With the NFL kicking off this week for the regular season, people across the country are getting their wagers in. Over in Oklahoma, that’s not the case, however.

Oklahoma missing out on college football betting is rough

Time and time again, people are going to bring up that Oklahoma missing out on college football betting is rough. The season kicked off earlier this month and the Sooners and Oklahoma State Cowboys are ready to make serious noise. With Oklahoma, it’s a totally different era now that both Caleb Williams and Lincoln Riley have made their way to USC. On top of that, former 5-star QB Spencer Rattler also transferred to South Carolina.

Despite the turnover for the program, Oklahoma figures to be a major player in the Big 12, and people obviously can’t wait for the Red River Showdown with Texas. That game alone would have brought in millions of dollars worth of bets. Instead, legal wagers won’t be coming in time. There’s a growing concern about more and more illegal bets coming in and things are sure to be high this fall.

That’s never a good thing, as these unregulated bets are a continued problem in Oklahoma. That’s always going to be the case when sports betting isn’t made legal. People are finding ways to make their bets through bookies and offshore accounts. The local officials know about this, which is why so many people are pushing for changes to be made. However, there are plenty of officials against things too.

This is why things have been delayed like this. And this is another reason why the tribes aren’t pleased. They know that this is only going to stay put unless a group steps up and helps things move in the right direction. Until that happens, though, then people are going to live in a world of uncertainty with sports betting. And on top of that, people will keep leaving the state to fill their betting needs.

When could Oklahoma sports betting arrive?

People will always wonder when could Oklahoma sports betting arrive? Again, that’s all up in the air and no one knows. However, there’s some hope that 2023 could be the year that things change. In order for that to happen, a new motion will need to be put in place and the state’s government will need to come to an agreement on how to move forward. There was hope that’d be the case in 2022, but no dice.

Right now, however, there’s been talks about betting in the state potentially not coming to fruition until 2024. That would be a major blow for the state, as not only are people ready to bet on college football teams, but they’re going to want to check the best NBA odds as well for the Oklahoma City Thunder. Ever since the Thunder made the move to Oklahoma from Seattle, people have loved watching them play.

Once sports betting is legalized, the expectation is that the Thunder will receive a ton of bets, as they’re a big-time pro team. No one has forgotten about the days of Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook, and James Harden all playing for that squad. They were fun to watch and people wanted to bet on them then. Hopefully, things will change sooner than later and OKC Thunder bets will be able to go down.

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.