38 states rake in millions in sports betting while Oklahoma still waits for legalization – KOKI FOX 23 TULSA

TULSA, Okla.Thirty-eight states and Washington D.C. are raking in millions of dollars this month from legalized sports betting combined with heavy action linked to March Madness, but in Oklahoma, the bill to legalize sports wagering remains stalled at the State Capitol.

Last spring, the Oklahoma House of Representatives passed a bill to legalize sports betting in Oklahoma. The bill is still alive in the State Senate, but it has yet to receive a hearing.

"We cannot act on sports betting until the state legislature legalizes it first. We cannot do this on our own like people see it across the country. It's got to be part of the compact," Cherokee Nation Chief Chuck Hoskin Jr. told FOX23.

Hoskin said the Cherokee Nation, which operates multiple casinos on its tribal lands in eastern Oklahoma including the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Catoosa, wants to set up and is ready to have sports wagering on its properties.

In the nearby Muscogee (Creek) Nation, who also operates multiple casinos including the River Spirit Casino in south Tulsa, work is underway to convert an old buffet area into the largest sports viewing venue and bar in the state. FOX23 was told when we asked about it earlier this year, the space could easily be converted into a sports book and sports wagering center should state lawmakers legalize sports betting in Oklahoma in the future.

The U.S. Supreme Court ruled in 2018 in a 7-2 vote that the federal government's prohibition on sports wagering except in four states was unconstitutional when the federal government stepped in to an issue reserved for the states under the 10th Amendment. Since then, 38 states and Washington D.C. have all legalized sports betting.

The most recent state to legalize sports betting is North Carolina. Sports wagering operations across the state began this month, and they were bolstered by bets being placed on the NCAA March Madness tournament.

The North Carolina Lottery Commission reported just under $200 Million was wagered in just the first week of legalized sports betting, which coincided with the start of March Madness. A chunk of the money that is won can be taxable revenue, and the state expects a few million dollars in new money for public services just from March Madness wagering alone.

Sports betting in Oklahoma has slowly been catching on at the State Capitol in Oklahoma City. In 2022, the Oklahoma House did not pass a sports wagering legalization bill. Then in 2023, it did. Now in 2024, that bill passed out of the House in 2023 is still pending in the State Senate. According to State Senator Bill Coleman's Office (R-Ponca City) it's not clear if that bill will get a committee hearing that if approved, would bring it to the floor of the State Senate for one final vote before it goes to the governor.

Both House and Senate lawmakers have openly said they want there to be fruitful and positive discussions about the future of sports betting in Oklahoma between Governor Kevin Stitt and the tribes who hold the rights to administer such a program on their lands. Right now, the Oklahoma Tribal Gaming Compact does not allow for legalized sports wagering despite allowing many other forms of gambling.

"It should come to this state, and we have exclusivity," Hoskin told FOX23 News. "The tribes are interested in this. The Cherokee Nation is interest in this. I won't say it makes or breaks our gaming operations, but if it is legalized in the state, it will be in the wheelhouse of all the tribes, and we will be, as we always are, at the top of the market."

Stitt also wants to bring sports wagering into the state. He's told FOX23 many times he sees it as an alternative way to bring in money for education and also to fund economic development packages that could lure in large companies looking to leave higher-tax states.

"As long as it is transparent and fair, I'm all for rolling that out," Stitt has told FOX23 multiple times in the last year and a half.

Last November, Stitt released a plan on how he would like to see legalized sports betting. That plan calls for lower taxes for in-person bets made in a brick and mortar casino, and it would tax at a slightly higher amount bets made on mobile apps where people can wager without ever having to step foot in a casino. Stitt said by taxing in-person bets differently than ones made in mobile apps, it would protect and slightly incentivize traditional casino operations.

However, despite releasing a plan, both sides say they cannot move on the subject until sports wagering is legalized in Oklahoma. But lawmakers insist there must be a framework in place between the governor and the tribes before they act. Those talks are somewhat complicated after years of fighting between the governor and the tribes on a variety of compacts the state has with tribes on everything from tobacco sales, tribal license plates, to even hunting and fishing.

"My colleagues saw the advantage, the economic advantage to this, the restoration of tribal-legislative relations," said State Representative Ken Luttrell (R-Ponca City) after the bill was put on hold in the middle of the 2023 legislative session.

Luttrell and Coleman, both from Ponca City, have been the primary authors of the bills attempting to legalize sports wagering in Oklahoma, and FOX23 is told if it fails this session, they will re-file a new bill next session and try again.

Currently, if an Oklahoman wants to wager on a game, they must travel to Kansas, download an app from an approved partner, and as long as their phone pings off of a Kansas tower they can place and collect their bets. The State of Kansas said money raised by Oklahomans travelling to their state to wager on sports would be re-invested into Kansas education and economic development programs.

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38 states rake in millions in sports betting while Oklahoma still waits for legalization - KOKI FOX 23 TULSA