Oklahoma is one of just 12 states that has not approved, licensed, and launched sports betting but it hasn’t been because of lack of effort. The support of the state’s Native American tribes is vital but thus far that approval has not been forthcoming.
Legislative Perseverance
House Bill 1027 is the latest legislative endeavor to bring sports betting to Oklahoma but without the support of tribal leadership in the state, the future of sports betting appears dim. Oklahoma State Senator Ron Coleman has been a vocal proponent of sports betting and the revenue it will generate for the Sooner State.
The current bill has passed the House but has been sitting in the Rules Committee amidst uncertainty by state senators as to whether it will pass muster without the support of Oklahoma’s tribal nations. In the absence of a wide-ranging agreement with the state’s tribes, the bill will likely continue to stall.
“The leadership felt that it was something that was not going to be able to be put into law just by us passing it out of the Senate. There had to be more steps to take place,” said Senator Coleman.
The primary reason for the uncertainty is due to the tribe’s exclusive gaming rights in the state, rights for which they have paid and have afforded them a voice in all things gaming in Oklahoma. The relationship between the tribes and the state, vis-a-vis gaming, has been tenuous but Senator Coleman remains undeterred.
“There’s been a history of a strained relationship between them although it is getting better. So, I think it’s just nobody neither party’s got a strong will right now to sit down and just roll their sleeves up,” said Coleman.
Coleman’s approach going forward is to seek mirror bills in both chambers and a new tact with the tribal leadership in hopes of forging an alliance instead of maintaining an adversarial relationship.
Senator Coleman stated, “We’re still trying to push forward, I would imagine myself and or Representative Luttrell will follow a similar bill next year to see if we can get an agreement between the tribes and the state.”
Revocation of Auto-Renewal Compact
Perhaps in response to the tribe’s resistance to ceding any ground on sports betting, Oklahoma Governor Kevin Stitt has engineered a draft resolution that would nix the automatic renewal of the state’s Model Tribal Gaming Compact that comes due in 2034.
The governor has called upon the state’s Horse Racing Commission to enact this mechanism but the commission has been reluctant. The resolution reads as follows:
“Be it resolved that the commission does hereby express its intent to take all steps necessary to ensure compacts entered pursuant to the Model Gaming Compact, which are set to expire Dec. 31, 2034, not be automatically renewed.”
The most recent renewal occurred in 2019 and the Commission Chairman Keith Sanders believes he has followed the letter of the law. Until the commission receives legal clarity on whether or not changing the compact would be allowed, it is uncertain whether this action could pass a legal litmus test.
Cherokee Nation Principal Chief Chuck Hoskin Jr. and Matthew Morgan, chairman of the Oklahoma Indian Gaming Association both supported the commission’s decision to delay granting the governor’s request. Yet, Abegail Cave, Stitt’s communications director, has stressed the change in the auto-renewal would allow future governors more latitude in terms of negotiating gaming compacts with the tribes.
