Oklahoma lawmakers advanced two more sports betting bills Wednesday, days after moving a competing bill forward. All three bills face uphill political climbs before passage.
The state House of Representatives passed the two bills by roughly two-to-one margins Wednesday. This comes shortly after the state Senate narrowly passed another Oklahoma sports betting legalization proposal.
Any of the three bills needs to pass both the House and Senate before they can become law. They also face a veto from Gov. Kevin Stitt, who has publicly opposed all three proposals.
Oklahoma sports betting bill details
Each bill takes a different approach to bringing legal sportsbooks to the state.
The legislation passed out of the Senate would allow state gaming tribes as well as the NBA’s Oklahoma Thunder to have sports betting licenses. The Thunder could partner with a third-party sportsbook operator such as DraftKings or FanDuel to offer mobile bets in and around the Oklahoma City metro, but would be unable to accept wagers in tribal lands that make up most of the state.
The tribes would be allowed to open retail sportsbooks at their casinos as well as offer mobile wagering on tribal lands. There are 38 federally recognized Oklahoma tribes, all with vastly different land claims, creating a potentially complex patchwork of mobile sportsbooks.
Oklahoma gaming tribes have publicly opposed any legislation that gives sports betting rights outside tribal control. However, tribal leaders earlier this week indicated in a letter they may be willing to work with outside stakeholders.
Both approaches involve Oklahoma's tribes. The Senate approach also appears to include a commercial component, the Oklahoma City Thunder. Not involved in those discussions: Gov. Kevin Stitt.
— Shawn Ashley (@QuorumCallShawn) March 27, 2025
The other two bills, both passed by the House, would give the tribes exclusive Oklahoma sports betting rights.
One of the two bills would give tribes retail and mobile sports betting rights within their respective tribal lands. The other would give similar authorization, but it would first require a voter referendum on the 2026 ballot. The voter referendum bill would be a way to circumvent Stitt's opposition.
Oklahoma tribal lands encompass most of the state, including Tulsa and its surrounding metro areas. If either of the bills passed by the House come into law, it would appear to prevent legal books in the Oklahoma City metro, the state’s most densely populated region.
Oklahoma sports betting future
All three face significant political hurdles before they can come into law.
Stitt’s opposition looms large. He has long pushed for a sports betting model that allows outside interests including potentially state horse tracks, the Oklahoma Lottery or other businesses to have sports betting rights beyond just the tribes. He has reaffirmed he will veto any bill that limits the scope of the market.
Though the tribes may warm up to a compromise solution, they will oppose any legislation as wide open as Stitt’s proposal. The tribes generate billions of dollars in economic impact for the state annually and significant support in the legislature.
This impasse has helped stall Oklahoma's sports betting efforts and remains a significant hurdle. Tribal leaders have previously indicated they were willing to wait until Stitt leaves office due to term limits in 2027 before considering sports betting authorization.
Under federal law, federally recognized tribes must have approval from their state’s governor before changing their casino gaming offerings. Oklahoma has no commercial casinos.
Thirty-nine states have approved some form of legal sports betting. Oklahoma has the most gaming facilities per capita and is one of a handful of holdouts where sports betting legalization bills have been seriously considered.
