House Bill Filed In New Effort To Legalize Sports Betting In Oklahoma

An Oklahoma lawmaker is going into the new year with a goal to make sports betting legal across the state.

State Representative Ken Luttrell filed a similar bill last year, but it never made it to a vote at the capitol.

He said the biggest difference with this new bill is the amount of money the tribes would pay the state, and the way that pay structure is set up.

Rep. Luttrell said Oklahoma tribes and the state are both missing out millions of dollars in revenue right now.

"We're seeing Oklahoma dollars go across state lines and being spent in other states,” he said.

Luttrell said last year, his bill was written with a flat 10 percent fee the tribes would pay to the state.

What he has introduced to the legislature this time around with House Bill 1027, involves a "sliding fee" system for sports betting.

If passed, and if a tribe decides to set up sports betting, the tribe would pay the state a four percent fee for the first $5 million dollars made in one month.

As the month goes on, the tribe would pay the state five percent of the next $5 million made.

The bill says the state would get a six percent cut of any additional money made. Luttrell said the system would start over again the next month.

"The more they make, the more the state would benefit from it. And we certainly want to see our tribal partners prosper at this and be worth their while,” Luttrell said.

Thirty states plus D.C. have made sports betting legal since the Supreme Court gave states the option back in 2018.

Kansas is the latest state to jump on board, legalizing it earlier this year in September.

"If gaming is going to expand in Oklahoma, it has to be done through the tribes as the operators,” Oklahoma Indian Gaming Association Chairman Matthew Morgan said.

He was not available for an interview Friday, but talked to News On 6 almost a year ago about the issue.

"If this is something that our customers want and makes economic sense for both the tribes and the state, I think it should behoove us to explore that conversation,” he said.

In the past, Governor Stitt has indicated he would support legalizing sports betting, if it is a good deal for both the state and the tribes.