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Oklahoma’s legislative session doesn’t wrap up until May 8, giving lawmakers about two weeks to get sports betting legalization bills across the finish line. But will they get the job done?
History says no. Oklahoma is one of 11 states without legal sports betting. Of those 11, they are among the most surprising since it has a pretty sophisticated casino industry. Naturally, you’d think they’d venture into sports by now, but a series of factors (we’ll get into it later on) has stopped it in its tracks.
But there is hope. Two betting bills are technically still alive on the matter, and in this article, we’ll update you on how things are tracking.
Betting Bill Vote Fails In The Senate
There are technically two bills still in play — Senate Bill 585 and House Bill 1047 — and both have been hanging around since last session. HB 1047 already cleared the House and had been stuck in the Senate in no man’s land… until this past week.
HB 1047, which would’ve legalized both in-person and mobile sports betting through the state’s Model Gaming Compact with local tribes. The bill was discussed at length on the Senate floor, inspiring heated dialogue on both sides. Ultimately, votes were cast — 21 saying yes, 27 going with no — and HB 1047 lost momentum.
Opposition focused on two drawbacks: gambling is a vice, and it doesn’t help all local universities. The bill would’ve kicked back tax money to Oklahoma University and Oklahoma State, but not other state colleges, which drew the ire of some politicians. But that was mostly a side point compared to the moral ills of betting itself.
“The fastest growing addiction that is destroying young men in their twenties is online sports betting,” said State Sen. Brian Guthrie.
State Sen. Bill Coleman, who led the bill, countered by saying that betting was happening in the state regardless. First, offshore sportsbooks are highly popular inside the state, and now, prediction markets have completely taken off. Coleman’s argument was that the state should regulate it and get some tax money out of it, rather than play the moral high ground and get nothing in return.
Senate Bill Stuck In The House
As we said, there were two sports betting bills. The other is SB 585. This bill is on the more unique side, as it gives only the Oklahoma City Thunder — the NBA betting favorites to win the title in 2026 — a sports betting license. The Senate passed this bill, but it has not moved since entering the House.
We have slim hopes for SB 585. Why? Because it doesn’t run sports betting exclusively through local tribes. It opens the door for commercial sports betting apps, and that’s just tricky business in Oklahoma.
You see, the tribes have a monopoly over the casino business due to a compact they signed with the state government decades ago. They feel that entitles them to exclusively offer sports betting, too.
Current Governor Kevin Stitt doesn’t agree. Since he’s been leading the state government, he’s continuously vouched for allowing commercial sportsbooks — think the likes of BetMGM or FanDuel — into the state. He’s fine with the tribes also offering sports betting, but they’d have to play nice with the big-name competitors.
Knowing the deep, almost unlimited, pockets of these betting apps, the tribes don’t want that competition. Nor should they — again, there’s a compact saying only they can offer Las Vegas-style betting in Oklahoma. The tribes have said they’ll gladly wait til Stitt is out of office at the end of 2028 before they come to the negotiating table on sports betting.
That’s why we were more optimistic about HB 1047 passing because it did go through the local tribes, but that was not enough to convince lawmakers to get on board. Which raises the question, will anything convince them at this point? Maybe this Hail Mary, which we cover next.
A FanDuel-Tribal Partnership?
FanDuel is the No. 1 sportsbook operator by market share. They want in on the Oklahoma market, and to do so, they’re willing to play ball with local tribes. They’re openly saying the tribes could control betting in-state, but could partner with FanDuel to offer it.
“Oklahomans are already engaging in sports betting on unregulated offshore platforms—legalization would bring this activity into a safe, regulated market,” a FanDuel spokesperson previously said. “This effort could generate $75-100 million in revenue for the state over five years that does not exist today, helping to fund various priorities across Oklahoma communities.”
The tribes haven’t said anything about the idea, but history tells us they’re not interested. Everything we’ve heard out of the Oklahoma Indian Gaming Association has been consistent: they want all the control.
Just our opinion, but we’d stick a fork in Oklahoma sports betting getting passed in 2027. There’s just too much bad blood between the tribes and the local government. It’ll not only take time for that to boil over, but likely also new leadership (both at the governor and within the tribes). That’s a ways away…
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