OKLAHOMA CITY – Sen. Bill Coleman introduced Wednesday that he will likely be signing on because the Senate creator of fellow Ponca City Republican Rep. Ken Luttrell’s House Bill 1027 to legalize sports activities betting in Oklahoma. An avid sports activities fanatic, Coleman mentioned the change can be an financial boon for the state and he hopes the Legislature seizes the chance earlier than it’s too late.
“Oklahomans love their sports – we have the lottery, three horse tracks, and the most tribal casinos of any state. Sports betting through our tribal partners would simply provide another opportunity for our state’s sports fanatics to have some fun while creating thousands of new jobs and millions in revenue to further boost our economy,” Coleman mentioned. “With the popularity of sports betting exploding around the nation, I hope our legislative colleagues realize the tremendous fiscal impact this will have on our state and approve sports betting this session.”
According to a latest launch, HB 1027 would create a brand new compact that tribes might determine whether or not to enter into, permitting both cellular and in-person sports activities betting in the state. A tribe that agreed to the compact would give 4% of the primary $5 million in sports activities betting annual gross income to the state, 5% of the next $5 million of adjusted gross income, and eventually 6% of all future adjusted gross income. Any settlement would must be submitted to the U.S. Department of the Interior for approval.
Thirty-five of Oklahoma’s 38 federally acknowledged tribes have signed gaming compacts with the state, and there are 143 tribal casinos and gaming facilities statewide that might presumably provide sports activities betting. Currently, sports activities betting is already authorized in 36 different states, together with Kansas the place Coleman lives close to.
“I recently drove over an hour to Kansas to place some sports bets and there were numerous other Oklahoma tags in the parking lot,” Coleman mentioned. “It’s estimated that approving sports betting could generate $240 million in revenue and create more than 3,000 jobs. We’re missing a huge opportunity.”
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