Efforts to legalise sports betting in Oklahoma remain gridlocked as Gov Kevin Stitt and tribal leaders spar over exclusivity. Now, the Oklahoma City Thunder want in, proposing a shared statewide betting licence.
Efforts to legalise sports betting in Oklahoma have repeatedly failed amid clashes between Gov Kevin Stitt and the state’s gaming tribes.
Now, the NBA’s Oklahoma City Thunder wants a seat at the table.
Lawmakers discussed sports betting options last week during a legislative study committee, including a Thunder representative suggesting the state authorise either the team or a tribal consortium to offer one statewide retail and mobile sports betting licence in the state, according to KOSU.
The proposal included sharing revenue among the parties, with 0.25% of the total betting handle directed to the NBA franchise.
While lawmakers remain interested in legalising the industry, Stitt has vowed to veto any sports betting bill that gives tribes sports betting exclusivity. Meanwhile, tribes already hold gaming exclusivity in the state and do not want to relinquish that position, believing that including a non-tribal operator would violate tribal gaming compacts. The tribes paid the state $210 million in 2024 for gambling exclusivity as part of their compact.
“Any breakdown in the gaming compacts would create major uncertainty for both the casino industry in Oklahoma, a major economic driver for both the tribes and the state, leading to legal challenges, legal costs that threaten the operational stability of the casinos,” Rep Ken Luttrell said at the meeting.
Because of the dispute between the governor and the tribes, recent legislation attempts to legalise sports betting through the tribes have been unsuccessful despite strong support in Oklahoma City.
This year’s Oklahoma sports betting legalisation attempt
Despite Stitt’s pledge to veto any tribal sports betting bills, Luttrell’s proposal this year made it further than any previous attempts. The proposal was developed in concert with the Oklahoma Indian Gaming Association, allowing tribes to amend their compacts to include sports betting.
The bills passed the House and made it to the Senate floor, where they did not receive a vote before the legislature adjourned.
Luttrell’s HB 1047 would have created a sports betting framework. If Stitt had vetoed that bill, HB 1101 would have sent the issue to voters, mirroring a 2003 move to create a state lottery. Luttrell guided similar framework legislation through the House in 2003.
While Oklahoma sports betting remains illegal, the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma signed a multi-state sportsbook agreement with Kambi in 2024. The tribe’s flagship casino is near the Texas border. It also has a number of sponsorship deals in Texas, including with the Texas Rangers, Dallas Mavericks, Dallas Stars and the ATP’s Dallas Open.
Stitt stays strong on commercial Oklahoma sports betting
Stitt told media he was not disappointed in the 2025 failure to legalise. He believes the tribes are waiting until he is out of office in 2027.
He attempted to legalise sports betting in 2020 through compacts with two state tribes. Other tribes in the state opposed the move and the state’s courts ultimately rejected the compacts. That ordeal left Stitt and the tribes at odds.
In 2023, Stitt revealed a sports betting plan that opens the market to commercial operators. It gives online sports betting control to commercial entities, while allowing the tribal casinos to have in-person sportsbooks. He pointed to that plan again this year when legalisation talks heated up.
Frustrated GOP lawmakers even floated taking over compact negotiations themselves, reflecting the depth of the rift between Stitt and tribal leaders.