Oklahoma won’t see legal sports betting in 2025

The state Senate has adjourned without considering sports betting legislation.

US.- The Oklahoma Senate has adjoured with no vote on bills to legalise sports betting in the state. HB 1047 and HB 1101, sponsored by Rep. Ken Luttrell, passed the House earlier this year with strong bipartisan support, but did not get beyond the committee stage in the Senate. Senate president Pro Tempore Lonnie Paxton told Fox 25 that senators could study the bills again in the summer.

HB 1047 would authorise sports betting and tether sportsbook operators to Native American tribes that have entered into gaming compacts with the state. The initial version proposed a 10 per cent tax rate for tribes offering sports betting. The Oklahoma Horse Racing Commission is responsible for regulating non-tribal gaming, but tribal sportsbooks would operate under their own internal regulatory frameworks for sports betting.

Of the revenue provided to the state, $25,000 per month will be allocated to gambling addiction treatment and education, while 88 per cent of the state’s tax revenue from sports betting will go to the Education Reform Revolving Fund and 12 per cent to the General Revenue Fund. 

HB 1101 lays the groundwork for a voter referendum if HB 1047 does not pass. Because of existing compacts, tribes have a say over gambling in Oklahoma, but governor Kevin Stitt has said that he would veto any bill giving tribes exclusivity