A bill to permit retail sportsbooks at Oklahoma’s tribal casinos and let the NBA’s Oklahoma City Thunder partner with a third-party operator passed the state Senate Tuesday, shortly after tribal officials announced a framework to bring legal sportsbooks to the state.
The narrow Senate vote is the most significant step in the latest attempt to legalize Oklahoma sports betting. The bill must still pass the House, but Senate approval builds momentum in a long-stalled effort.
The key step will be backing from the state’s gaming tribes and Gov. Kevin Stitt, whose impasse stalled legislation for several years.
If the Senate bill clears the House, retail sportsbooks would be allowed to open at dozens of Oklahoma tribal casinos. Each of the state’s 38 federally recognized gaming tribes could take online bets within tribal land, which combined encompasses most of Oklahoma.
The legislation also lets the Thunder partner with a third-party sportsbook and allow mobile betting on non-tribal territories, including Oklahoma City's metro area and the state's Northwestern corner.
Oklahoma sports betting context
Oklahoma tribes and policymakers have considered sports betting legalization since the Supreme Court struck down the federal wagering ban in May 2018. Stitt, who took office in Jan. 2019, pushed for a comprehensive market that would allow non-tribal entities such as the Thunder and potentially the state lottery, horse tracks or other commercial businesses sportsbook licenses.
The tribes publicly considered any bill that allows non-tribal entities sports betting rights a violation of their pre-existing gaming compacts, which give them exclusive permission to offer casino gambling. Stitt threatened to veto any bill that grants tribes exclusive sports betting rights.
Oklahoma lawmakers advanced a bill that would allow 1 major sportsbook brand such as FanDuel/DraftKings to take mobile bets in/near Oklahoma City but not most of the rest of the state. Interesting potential market shaping up as OK tribes work with lawmakers on a ((possible)) deal
— Ryan Butler (@ButlerBets) March 26, 2025
A letter from the Oklahoma Indian Gaming Association (OIGA) released Monday indicated the tribes may be willing to warm up on their position. OIGA Chair Matthew Morgan wrote tribes would “attempt to be inclusive of other stakeholders within the parameters of the law.”
The OIGA offered amendments to a competing proposal to the one passed Tuesday that stalled in both the House and Senate. Tuesday’s vote indicates tribes, the Thunder and Oklahoma policymakers may be increasingly amenable to a compromise solution.
Potential Oklahoma sports betting future
The U.S. government’s forced removal of many East Coast Native American nations in the 1800s and resettlement in what is now Oklahoma created an extensive patchwork of tribal lands that would shape any potential online sports betting market.
“Tribal lands” in other states with legal sports betting including Washington and Wisconsin are typically smaller areas in lightly populated areas. These states allow online bets but only near casino properties.
In Oklahoma, online sports betting limited to tribal lands would still mean vast land areas, including the Tulsa metro.
The federal government recognizes 38 distinct tribes in Oklahoma, all with their own land claims. Larger tribes including the Cheyenne-Arapaho, Chickasaw, Choctaw, Cherokee, and Creek, which encompasses Tulsa, have claims that extend through multiple counties.
Assuming one mobile sportsbook per tribe, this could create a complex patchwork of legal online sportsbook options on tribal lands. It’s unclear if eligible tribes would partner with national operators or use a third-party tech platform to operate their own self-branded platforms.
The Thunder would most likely work with a major national operator such as FanDuel or DraftKings, the two U.S. market share leaders.
