An Oklahoma online sports betting bill that would encroach on the gaming monopoly the state’s tribes have long enjoyed has taken the first step on a potential journey through the legislature.
HB 1434, the “Oklahoma Lottery Education Act,” was filed last week, and on Feb. 6 was referred first to the House Rules Committee and then to the Appropriations Committee. The bill does not appear on this week’s Appropriations calendar.
It seems unlikely that the bill, which would allow for in-person sports betting and mobile compact with only two of the state’s tribes, which led to an immediate backlash that included those two tribes being expelled from the state’s tribal association.
Oklahoma’s nearly 40 tribes operate more than 125 casinos across the state, making it, by at least one measure, the biggest tribal gaming state in the nation. California has more tribes but fewer casinos.
The Chickasaw Nation owns 23 gaming locations in Oklahoma, ranging from those at travel stops to the biggest casino in the world, the WinStar. Multiple other tribes own eight or more gaming locations, including the Cherokee Nation, Choctaw Nation, Muscogee Nation and the Osage Nation.
Stitt held a press conference last fall laying out a plan for legal sports betting. The plan would limit in-person betting to Indian Country but would allow for an undisclosed number of online sports betting licenses to be issued by the state. The plan does not call for the platforms to be tethered to Indian casinos.
Tax rate: 15% retail and 20% digital 6y4n2l
According to a fact sheet for the plan and the newly filed bill, in-person sports betting revenue would be taxed at 15% and digital-wagering revenue would be taxed at 20%. The licensing fee for digital platforms would be a one-time $500,000 fee with a $100,000 per-year renewal.
Last November, Stitt said sports betting would be a “great revenue stream for the state” and that “tribes will be able to add it onto their existing infrastructure, and Oklahomans can access it right from their phones.”
At that time, lawmakers and tribal leaders said they had not been consulted about the plan, and Indian Country quickly made it clear that it did not Stitt’s plan — or now, by definition, Sen. Casey Murdock’s bill.
“Upon initial review, we do not believe the plan represents the best interests for the people of Oklahoma or the tribal nations that have done so much to the state,” Choctaw Nation Chief Gary Batton said in a statement to the Oklahoma Voice.
Oklahoma Indian Gaming Association Chairman Matthew Morgan said in a statement at that time that Stitt “has not engaged in meaningful and respectful government-to-government discussion with tribes.”
Oklahoma’s legislative session is set to adjourn May 31, and the crossover deadline for bills is March 21.
