Sports betting bill passes Oklahoma’s House of Representatives subcommittee

This is just the first step in a long legislative struggle to get the bill turned into law.

Sports betting has cleared its first major hurdle in Oklahoma’s House of Representatives, with House Bill 1027 (HB 1027) passing the 59th Legislature with ease. The bill was tabled by Representative Ken Lutrel and it passed the subcommittee chaired by Kutrel himself.

However, these are only the early stages; HB 1027 still has to pass through the House Appropriations and Budget Committee, the House floor, a Senate committee, the Senate floor and Governor Kevin Stitt before it could become law.

Kutrel anticipates that HB 1027 will be revised a great deal through this process. He commented: “What we are seeing now will not be the final bill.”

The bill, if approved, would authorize in-person and digital sports gambling across all of Oklahoma’s Tribal gaming compacts. However, Oklahoma Governor Kevin Stitt has a tumultuous past with the Oklohoman Tribes, which may make the passing of this bill even more difficult.

In November, during The Sooner State’s gubernatorial elections last November. five of the state’s most powerful Tribes endorsed Democratic contender Joy Hofmeister, the state’s public schools superintendent. She promised friendly relations with the Tribes and cooperation with their gambling operations.

Previously, Stitt unsuccessfully attempted to renegotiate the state’s gambling compact with Oklahoma’s Native American Nations. His administration also sought to overturn a US Supreme Court decision on Tribal sovereignty in 2020.

However, Stitt has still emphasized that he wants to see sports betting legalized in Oklahoma. He has claimed revenue from sports betting would go toward education and economic development and said: “If we’re going to do it, I’m the kind of person that says, ‘hey, let’s get it done now.’”

Despite past animosities, Oklahoman Tribes have indicated they will be amenable to dealing with Stitt in the future, following his retention of the state governorship late last year.

Robert Collins

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