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In terms of Oklahoma sports betting news, we could find out in the near future if things end up getting across the board or not. As many of you know by now, Governor Kevin Stitt has a sports betting plan on his mind, as he wants to try and get things done by the end of the year. However, the chances of the green light coming for the project have only increased, as two Oklahoma sports betting bills are in the works.
Another one has been filed by Republican Casey Murdock, which is titled Senate Bill 1434. Murdock, similar to others in the area, has been passionate about trying to get betting legalized. Just like other proponents, Murdock has been speaking highly of how great the tax revenue could be for Oklahoma. Nearly 40 other states have gotten betting done, but Oklahoma hasn’t. That’s something Murdock and Stitt want to change as soon as possible.
“I promised Oklahomans if we pursued sports betting, we would do it right – and this plan does just that,” Stitt said in a release on the new bill presented for legal sports betting to arrive in Oklahoma. “Thirty-five states have already legalized sports betting, and it’ll be a great revenue stream for the state.”
Soon enough, the hope is that the next steps can be taken for legal Oklahoma sports betting, but the good news is that there are options available. From our chair, it would be best if everyone would be able to get on the same page with one of the bills and then just go all-in on that one. However, there’s still time for things to be figured out. This spring, we should have more of an update on how things are going, but there’s definitely optimism all around for betting at this point.
Tulsa King.
OKLAHOMA CITY -Gov. Kevin Stitt wants to legalize sports betting, and he has an ambitious timeline.
Stitt said Friday that he wants state lawmakers to sign off on sports betting during the four-month legislative session that begins Feb. 6.
— PhillyGodfather ® Sports Bettor (@phillygodfather) January 20, 2023
Oklahoma tribes remain on the outside looking in for sports betting
While there indeed is hope for things, don’t forget that Oklahoma tribes remain on the outside looking in for sports betting. This has been a major issue in the past, as Stitt and the local tribes have plenty of issues. There’s been hope that they’d be able to put things aside for the benefit of everyone, but that hasn’t been the case. Instead, things got a bit worse when Stitt announced his new sports betting plan.
This caused a lot of issues for the already fractured relationship, as he didn’t reach out to tribal leaders for their thoughts on things. Instead, tribes announced that they were caught completely off guard by Stitt going so on his own. While plenty of people liked some of the details of Stitt’s plan, they didn’t like the fact that the tribes weren’t included in the thought process whatsoever. What did he think their reaction would be?
Shortly after his sports betting plan was announced, he received plenty of backlash from a lot of his supporters. It goes without saying, but tribes were not happy, with some leaders wasting no time in saying that they would not be in his corner to help this push forward. The tribes have plenty of open casinos, but their next wish is to help out in pushing forward with the sports betting efforts. As long as Stitt continues to ignore them, though, the harder it will be for things to launch.
Oklahoma is missing out on major NBA bets this season
One of the main issues for everyone right now is that Oklahoma is missing out on major NBA bets this season. Over the years, the Oklahoma City Thunder haven’t lived up to the hype in the Western Conference, but that’s not the case this year. The Thunder are looking like one of the top teams in the league, as their young talent is finally taking the next step. This of course includes former first-round pick Chet Holmgren.
A former Gonzaga Bulldog standout, Holmgren faced some early adversity for his career after he suffered a long-term injury. However, he’s back to full health for the Thunder and he’s getting the job done on both ends of the floor. Thanks to his great size, Holmgren is a shot-blocking threat, but he’s also got a strong touch on offense too. Holmgren is playing at a high level, no doubt.
.@ChetHolmgren working hard on both ends 😤 pic.twitter.com/XaBvyQguQu
— OKC THUNDER (@okcthunder) March 13, 2024
The same can be said for Shai Gligeous-Alexander. Matter of fact, Gligeous-Alexander has been one of the biggest surprises in the league this year, as he’s averaging more than 31 points per game. Who in the heck thought this would be the case for the youngster in 2023-24? Gligeous-Alexander has been tremendous for the squad.
With his strong play, Gligeous-Alexander holds pretty strong NBA betting odds to win MVP. It’s up in the air if he’ll be able to top Nikola Jokic, but he certainly has fans excited for his future. As a whole, OKC has been superb and they’ve raised the NBA Finals betting odds handsomely since the start of the season. It will be interesting to see if they can go on a deep postseason run, but local fans won’t be able to place legal bets on them. That fact definitely stings.
