Oklahoma is one of the few remaining states in the USA that has yet to legalize some form of locally regulated sports betting. Area lawmakers and Native American gaming associations are interested in the prospect of legal sports betting in Oklahoma, but a senate bill was unable to cross the finish line in 2023.
OK Governor Kevin Stitt (R) has indicated his intentions to sign sports betting into law if presented with a bill. Some legislators are suggesting renegotiating a better split in the gaming compacts with the state’s tribes, with sports betting used as the bargaining chip.
Matthew Morgan is the Chair of the OIGA and says that the tribes are ready to begin those discussions. However, no talks have taken place, and recent comments suggest the two sides are at a deadlock.
“Sports betting. It’s been the topic on everybody’s mind for three to four years, and we continually hear it… We have an impasse with the Chief Executive of the State of Oklahoma.”
Matthew Morgan – Chair of the Oklahoma Indian Gaming Association
Gambling in the Sooner State is entirely controlled by Native American tribes. Any attempt to usher in commercial sportsbook operators will be met with resistance by the OIGA.
While politicians and gaming authorities hopefully work out their differences between now and the start of the legislative session on January 18, 2024, local bettors are exercising other opportunities outside of Oklahoma.
There are four legal sports betting states among the six territories that border OK. Of those four, three of them have mobile sports betting apps where gamblers only need to cross into those states and make a wager using their smartphone.
Let’s not kid ourselves. They are [betting on sports]. They’re not doing it legally, but they are sports betting, whether they do it on the internet, whether they’re doing it with a group of friends, whether they have a bookie that they call. It’s just not well-regulated, it’s not legal, nobody’s getting any benefit off it.”
Matthew Morgan
Missouri and Texas haven’t legalized sportsbooks yet, but Arkansas, Kansas, Colorado, and New Mexico feature some form of sports betting to residents and visitors.
There is also the prospect of offshore sports betting sites in Oklahoma. There are no state or federal gambling laws that are able to govern international sportsbooks, which creates a legal gap that lets OK-based players use them to wager online.
All of the sites featured in our online sportsbook reviews accept members in OK, and they currently represent the best options for sports gambling in the state.
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