Despite opposition from the governor, Oklahoma moves forward sports betting bills with tribal input

OKLAHOMA CITY — Legislation legalizing sports betting, which gives tribal governments the exclusive right to operate it, has made its way through the House despite the governor’s opposition.

House Bills 1047 and 1101, authored by Rep. Ken Luttrell, R-Ponca City, would allow tribal gaming compacts to be amended to include sports betting. In exchange for exclusivity, the state would receive 10% of the revenue.

But House Bill 1101 would send the decision of whether or not to legalize sports betting to the ballot box, bypassing Gov. Kevin Stitt who said he will veto any legislation giving tribes exclusivity.

Rather than negotiating new gaming compacts, these bills add sports betting to the existing agreements. Rep. Steve Bashore, R-Miami, said March 26 that negotiating new compacts could open the door to violating the exclusivity provision. The voter-approved compacts between the state and tribal governments give tribes the exclusive right to operate gaming in exchange for paying the state a portion of the revenues generated.

Luttrell said the language of these bills has gone through negotiations with Oklahoma’s tribes, the Oklahoma Indian Gaming Association and leaders of the Legislature. The tribes could choose to offer mobile betting and the Legislature would leave regulation up to the consensus of the tribes as it does with other forms of gaming, he said.

“For the last three years, I’ve been in negotiations with the tribes and trying to get OIGA to take a stance and take a position and let us know what they really wanted,” he said. “They finally reached out to me with language that they wanted to see in the bill, things they thought were important. I’ve met with our leadership, we’ve come up with the cleanest, simplest possible sports betting bill that we can send to the Senate.”

He said millions of dollars leave Oklahoma every day with people taking their sports betting out of state.

Fiscal analyses of both bills estimate the revenue is about $140 million per year if sports betting is limited to “on-location betting”, but could reach $420 million annually if “mobile betting” is allowed. The state could receive between $14 million to $42 million annually. Luttrell said he thinks these are low estimates.

Stitt has taken a strong stance against legislation that would give tribes exclusivity over sports betting. He said he wants a “free market solution” and will veto any legislation giving tribal exclusivity that comes to his desk.

“Matter of fact, they’ve (lawmakers) excluded the governor of the state of Oklahoma from these discussions,” Stitt said March 26. “So when they say that all stakeholders have come to the table and agree on something … the governor has not weighed in on those things.”

House Bill 1101, which bypasses Stitt’s desk by sending the matter to the ballot, would only go into effect if House Bill 1047 is not signed into law. The governor would be able to set the date for when the question would go before voters.

“If you have a moral obligation against gaming, if your Sunday school class doesn’t like gaming, if your constituency in your district doesn’t like gaming, by voting for this bill, this gives you cover,” Luttrell said. “You’re not going to have to vote to override a governor’s veto on gaming, you’re not gonna have to answer to your constituents why you voted for gaming because you’re gonna vote to give it to a vote of the people and let your constituents make the decision.”

At a meeting of the United Indian Nations of Oklahoma March 20, tribal leaders said Oklahoma is different from other states trying to legalize sports betting because there are 38 tribes who must come to an agreement. The head of OIGA said tribes shouldn’t rush into a “bad deal” with the state.

House Bill 1101 passed with a vote of 66-29, and 1047 passed 62-31. Both can be considered by the Senate.

The Senate has advanced its own sports betting bill that would give the Oklahoma City Thunder, the state’s NBA team, a stake in sports betting. This bill is now eligible to be heard in the House.

Oklahoma Voice (oklahomavoice.com) is an affiliate of States Newsroom, the nation’s largest state-focused nonprofit news organization, supported by grants and donations. Oklahoma Voice provides nonpartisan reporting, and retains full editorial independence.