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Sports betting has a chance to launch at Oklahoma tribal casinos by 2023, if the state legislature acts this week.
A budget subcommittee report issued Monday recommends the full House Appropriations and Budget Committee approve HB 3008. The legislation would allow in-person sportsbooks at dozens of Oklahoma tribal casinos, pending federal approval of amended tribal-state gaming compacts. Online sports betting would not be allowed.
There’s not much time left for the state legislature to act, however. The full committee must approve the bill no later than Thursday, March 3 for it to advance this session, which ends on May 27.
When Could Legal Oklahoma Sports Betting Launch Under HB 3008?
Sportsbooks could launch anytime after Nov. 1, 2022 under the bill, although legal sports betting isn’t likely in Oklahoma before 2023. The reason has to do with requirements under the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act (IGRA).
Federal approval of amended tribal-state gaming compacts is required by IGRA before sports betting can launch under those agreements. It can take up to 45 days for the US Department of the Interior to approve amendments to the agreements. Once approved, the agency has another three months to have the amendments published in the Federal Register, making them official.
Tribal-state gaming agreements are typically published in much less time, however. That could potentially put sportsbooks live at approved tribal casinos by the 2023 Super Bowl.
Oklahoma Lawmaker Touts Benefits Of Legal Sports Betting
Oklahoma State Rep. Ken Luttrell is the bill’s lead sponsor. The Ponca City Republican told the budget subcommittee before its Feb. 21 vote on HB 3008 that up to 131 tribal casinos would be eligible to launch a sportsbook under the legislation.
“The projected income for the state of Oklahoma is substantial. The projected income for those tribes is substantial plus the jobs it would create,” Luttrell was quoted as saying in a Feb. 24 article in The Center Square Oklahoma.
Luttrell estimates his proposal would create at least 3,000 jobs and $240 million in annual state revenue, according to a Jan. 10 article in the Journal Record.
The last attempt to legalize sports betting in Oklahoma was in 2020 when Gov. Kevin Stitt and two tribes signed gaming compacts allowing the tribal nations to run retail sports pools. The agreements did not, however, have the approval of the Oklahoma State Legislature.
The compacts were subsequently struck down by the Oklahoma Supreme Court in 2021.
