The Oklahoma legislature is having one other crack at sports activities betting. State Rep. Ken Luttrell, a Ponca Metropolis Republican, has filed a invoice within the Oklahoma Home that carefully resembles his laws that got here unstuck final yr within the state Senate.
Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt provides the thumbs as much as voters after his November reelection. This week he says he’s backing sports activities betting. However on whose phrases? (Picture: Reuters)
This yr, circumstances might be barely totally different. The query is, can the state’s Republican governor Kevin Stitt and the state’s quite a few tribal operators overcome their variations to make it work?
Regardless of Oklahoma having extra casinos than some other, besides Nevada, efforts to legalize sports activities betting have been hampered by dangerous blood between Stitt and the tribes.
Luttrell believes final yr’s invoice sunk within the Senate due to “ethical causes,” fairly than poor tribal relations.
Causes for Optimism
One motive to be optimistic this time round is it’s not an election yr. Meaning lawmakers can flip their consideration to plugging holes within the state funds fairly than worrying about how voters understand their private ethics, or lack thereof.
If you wish to push a “sin invoice” by way of, don’t do it in an election yr, as any good politician is aware of.
In the meantime, Stitt is backing the sports activities betting push within the legislature, having did not legalize it himself with a sweep of his hand again in 2020.
On that event, the Oklahoma Supreme Courtroom dominated the governor had overstepped his authority. He allegedly did so by providing sports activities betting throughout negotiations with a handful of breakaway tribes who had been ready to tow his line. The courtroom decided it could actually solely be legalized by the legislature.
“Let me be clear: I help sports activities betting in Oklahoma,” Stitt stated in a tweet. “Offered that it’s honest, clear, and the state can maximize income potential to put money into high priorities, like training.”
Tribes in ‘No Hurry’
In the meantime, the tribes need sports activities betting, too, however they’re circumspect. Matthew Morgan, chairman of the Oklahoma Indian Gaming Affiliation (OIGA) lately instructed Information On 6 there was a “lot of curiosity” amongst tribal operators. However they had been in “no hurry to get one thing.”
“Higher to get one thing proper than get it quick,” he added.
The sticking level is that the introduction of sports activities betting would require the tribes to renegotiate their compacts with the state, one thing they’ve been reluctant to do, at the very least below Stitt’s phrases.
Sticking Level
In 2019, the Republican, searching for to squeeze extra revenue-share funds from the casinos, declared that the 2004 mannequin compact signed by the 35 tribes expired on January 1, 2020, and must be renegotiated.
The tribes argued the language within the compact signifies it was designed to robotically roll over for one more 15 years on that date, and that no renegotiation was vital. They had been finally vindicated in a federal courtroom.
Luttrell hopes his invoice has the components to be engaging to each the governor and the tribes. It proposes a “sliding scale” of revenue-share throughout a month, relying on sports activities betting yield: 4% of the primary $5 million of internet win, then 5% of the subsequent $5 million of adjusted gross revenues, after which 6% of all subsequent adjusted gross revenues.
Stitt’s hand in opposition to the tribes has been weakened by the judicial rulings, and if this invoice passes, it may present his final bargaining chip with regards to renegotiating compacts. However he should discover a answer that works for each the state and the tribes, as a result of the latter are ready to play the ready recreation on sports activities betting.
