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Oklahoma Governor Kevin Stitt is a popular guy, hence why he’s served in the position since 2018. Back then, he won 54 percent of the vote. Then in 2022, Stitt won re-election with a 69 percent vote.
But… he does have some enemies. We mean, who doesn’t in a state position that important? Perhaps his biggest are federally-recognized tribes. All of them (there are dozens inside the state). He’s faced lawsuits from some. He’s been criticized by them in the media.
This hostility between Stitt and the tribes IS the reason sports betting in Oklahoma hasn’t happened yet. This feud has left the state as one of 11 without a legal sports betting market, and as far as Stitt believes, that will remain the case until he’s out of office. Keep on reading and we’ll update you on the situation in the Sooner State.
Stitt Believes Tribes Are Waiting On His Exit
The 2025 legislative session came and went in Oklahoma. Sports betting legalization was kicked around, but ultimately, nothing came of it. Not that it was a surprise to Stitt, though. In a recent interview he did with Tulsa World, Stitt gave the exact reason for the defeat:
“I think the big casinos, the big bosses, are waiting until I’m out of office,” Stitt said. “So we’ll see what happens, I guess, in 2027.”
Honestly? Stitt is probably correct. He’s been in the middle of a “cold war” with the tribes for half a decade now. Back in 2020, he tried to legalize sports betting through two controversial compacts with some, but not all, of the tribes. Of course, the ones not involved in those talks fought back — and in court. Ultimately, the sport’s sided with the tribes and canceled the compacts.
Besides the state of California, no other state has as many tribes as Oklahoma. Those tribes have exclusive right to offer casino betting in the state — a right that predates Stitt by ages. Besides Nevada and New Jersey, few states were more synonymous with casino betting than Oklahoma. That’s why it was believed legal sports betting would follow. It hasn’t for reasons we’ll get into in the next section.
Stitt Wants A Free Market
Here’s the issue between Stitt and the tribes: the natives want exclusivity over sports betting as they do in casino. Stitt, though, wants an open market. He wants to bring in top mobile sports betting apps like DraftKings or FanDuel, while the tribes would maintain exclusivity in physical betting.
“We analyzed the 30 or 40 states that actually have sportsbook and put a great plan together,” Stitt said. “We set it out to have more of a free-market approach.”
Stitt’s rationale is right here. In legalized states where both in-person and mobile gambling is allowed, almost all of it is done in apps or online. We’re talking 95 percent of the money or so — all from mobile.
But… the tribes believe they’re legally entitled the sole right to offer sports gambling due to their compact. Given the amount of money to be made off this industry, they’re not just going to give away that exclusivity for nothing. No should they.
Complicating matters is tribal casinos can only offer betting in-person, not online. The Indian Gaming Regulatory Act says as much as so, and that’s a federal law. While Florida managed to find a workaround to the rule, in several other states where tribes own sports betting, it’s only offered while on their land.
Stitt doesn’t want to limit the industry to in-person betting, knowing what he knows. But federal law rules supreme here, and it would have to be that way. For this reason, Stitt has publicly come out and said he’ll veto any sports betting bill that gives tribes the exclusive rights for it. Obviously, those type of statements are only going to make things more bitter with tribes. It did.
2025 Efforts Stalled Out
Despite the heat from the tribes and Stitt, other Oklahoma lawmakers tried to get it done. Rep. Ken Luttrell has been the biggest proponent. In 2025, he proposed not one, but two different sports betting bills.
HB 1047, shaped with input from the Oklahoma Indian Gaming Association, would’ve legalized sports betting through a tribal framework. It passed the House and made it to the Senate floor. Luttrell also filed HB 1101 as a backup plan, which would’ve sent the issue to voters directly — a smart idea to bypass the tension between tribes and Stitt. But in the end, the Senate didn’t bring either bill up for a vote, and the measures died a painful death.
2027 or Bust
So here we are again. No legal sports betting. No meaningful negotiations. And a governor openly admitting that 2026 doesn’t offer much hope.
So if you’re a sports bettor in Oklahoma, there’s two choices. Wait it out until Stitt leaves office at the end of 2026. If that’s too much to bear, there’s offshore sportsbooks which work perfectly fine inside state borders. So what’s it going to be, dear reader?
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