Gov. Kevin Stitt says he’ll veto sports betting bills that give the tribes exclusive power
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- Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt said he would veto any sports betting bill that grants the tribes exclusive power over the industry.
- The governor proposed a plan in 2023 to legalize mobile sports betting with a 20% tax on revenues, but it faced criticism for potentially violating existing agreements with tribes.
- The Oklahoma Indian Gaming Association argues that Stitt’s plan would cost the state millions in exclusivity fees that support education.
Gov. Kevin Stitt will veto any bill that is “exclusively giving a monopoly to the tribes,” he said earlier this week regarding proposed legislation seeking to legalize sports betting in Oklahoma.
“We need more of a free market accountable system,” Stitt said during his weekly news conference Wednesday. “(The tribes are) big businesses. They can sign up, and they can do the exact same thing that the Thunder or somebody else can, but I don’t want to give a monopoly exclusively to the tribes that are a very reduced number.”
The governor’s comments relate to a few bills progressing through the state Legislature that seek to legalize sports betting in Oklahoma. Oklahoma remains one of a handful of states that has not legalized sports betting despite past efforts. More than 30 states offer some kind of sports betting either online or in person.
What sports betting bills are being considered in the Oklahoma Legislature?
Senate Bill 585, authored by Sen. Bill Coleman, R-Ponca City, would allow the Oklahoma City Thunder to receive a gaming license for sports betting in the state. While the bill is focused on the Thunder, it also would allow tribes to run sports betting enterprises.
Senate Bill 125 by Sen. Dave Rader, R-Tulsa, would authorize tribes who have entered into a compact with the state to offer sports betting. The tribes would have to execute supplements to existing compacts.
On Wednesday, Stitt said he doesn’t support legislation that gives the tribes exclusive rights to operate sports betting in Oklahoma.
“They’re sovereign nations, or they’re a separate government. They’re coming in and hiring lobbyists to come say what’s good for their nation, and not what’s good for the taxpayers of Oklahoma,” Stitt said. “I’m always going to stand for what’s good for the taxpayers of Oklahoma, and I think we need more of a free market accountable system.”
He called his plan to legalize sports betting in 2023 “great for Oklahoma.” In November 2023, Stitt announced a plan to license mobile sports betting operations, which would in return pay a 20% tax on revenues. He also said he would support tribal casinos adding sports betting in exchange for 15%.
At the time, experts said the proposal would likely violate the central state-tribal gaming compact, which grants tribal nations exclusive gaming rights in exchange for paying Oklahoma millions of dollars in monthly fees.
“It would be open to anybody to bid on it,” Stitt said Wednesday. “That way, it’s transparent, it’s accountable and that way we can maximize the revenue to the state of Oklahoma.”
But Stitt’s plan should be a nonstarter for Oklahomans, said Matthew Morgan, chairman of the Oklahoma Indian Gaming Association. The governor’s plan would cost the state over $200 million a year in exclusivity fees paid by the tribes that help support Oklahoma’s education budget, Morgan said in a statement Friday.
The plan would likely require the state to pay liquidated damages to tribal governments for violation of Oklahoma’s state-tribal gaming compacts, the chairman added.
“Our OIGA members are focused on working with stakeholders to build a plan that is in line with state laws to bring a product that Oklahomans are asking for and 38 other states already have,” Morgan said.
Coleman’s bill is eligible to be heard on the Senate floor, and would put the Thunder in charge of mobile sports betting on nontribal land in the state, while tribes would be allowed to take in-person bets at casinos and regulate mobile sports betting on tribal lands.
The senator said the state would receive 10% of the projected sports betting revenue, which is estimated at $20 million per year.
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