Oklahoma Senate rejects sports betting bill
Lawmakers have voted against the initiative by a 27-21 margin.
US.- The Oklahoma Senate has rejected House Bill 1047, a proposal to legalise sports betting in the state. Lawmakers voted down the proposal by a 27-21 margin.
HB 1047, authored by Representative Ken Luttrell and Senator Bill Coleman, proposed to give tribes the right to implement in-person and online sports betting as a supplement to the State-Tribal Gaming Act of 2004, which gives the tribes exclusive authority over gaming. The legislation had been approved in the House of Representatives.
Coleman had cited the rise that prediction markets as a reason to put forward the legislation, suggesting that it would “not create a new avenue of gambling”. “You can legally make a sports bet right now, and it’s unregulated and we get nothing. This bill contains a regulated alternative to legal sports betting with platforms who are very concerned about problem gaming,” he said.
Opponents said they did not want to contribute to sports betting addiction.
