Oklahoma panel advances three sports betting bills amid concerns about tribal exclusivity rights
Sen. Bill Coleman, R-Ponca City, left, talks with senators Dave Rader, R-Tulsa, and Brenda Stanley, R-Midwest City, on the Senate floor during special session on Oct. 3, 2023. (Photo by Kyle Phillips/For Oklahoma Voice)
OKLAHOMA CITY – Bills that would legalize sports betting, including one that would allow the Oklahoma City Thunder to obtain a gaming license, advanced Thursday from a Senate committee despite concerns that at least one measure could violate existing compacts with the state's tribes.
The three measures will likely look very different following negotiations between tribes and other interested players, but show the state is very serious about adding sports betting, said Sen. Bill Coleman, R-Ponca City, Senate Business and Insurance Committee chairman.
'They are tools that we are using for negotiations that are going on between a professional sports franchise here in Oklahoma and the tribes,' Coleman said.
Senate Bill 125, by Sen. Dave Rader, R-Tulsa, would allow tribes with Oklahoma gaming compacts to offer sports pools. Sports pools are any wagers, including mobile betting, on the outcome of sports or other events, except horse and animal races.
It would require the tribes to execute supplements to their existing compacts. Exclusivity fees would be 5% to 7%.
It passed by a vote of 9-2 and heads to the Senate Appropriations Committee.
Through the compacts, the state receives exclusivity fees in exchange for giving tribes the sole right to conduct certain types of Class III gaming, including slots, roulette and craps.
In fiscal year 2024, tribes paid the state $210 million in exclusivity fees, a nearly 4% increase over the prior year, according to the Oklahoma Gaming Compliance Unit Annual Report for fiscal year 2024.
Over three dozen states have already legalized sports betting, but prior efforts to allow it in Oklahoma have failed to garner enough legislative support.
'We're way behind the curve on sport betting as compared to some of our fellow regional states and that's always concerning to us in a competitive market,' said Matthew Morgan, chairman of the Oklahoma Indian Gaming Association.
He said the association has not talked with the authors of the bills, but is willing to have discussions.
But Morgan said any legislation on the subject cannot violate the existing compacts, must utilize the gaming supplemental process set forth in the compacts and has to make economic sense.
Buy-in from Gov. Kevin Stitt will also be important because he plays a role in the process, Morgan said.
'At the end of the day, you know, the tribes are the ones that have negotiated this substantial exclusivity under the gaming compacts,' Morgan said. 'We are the ones that take the financial risk on any gaming extensions.'
Sen. Mark Mann, D-Oklahoma City, said he fears Senate Bill 164, which narrowly advanced out of committee Thursday, violates the exclusivity provisions of the compacts. As a result, the state would lose money because it would have breached the terms, he said.
SB 164 would authorize the Oklahoma Lottery Commission to regulate sports betting. It would create an annual license fee of $100,000, an initial license fee of $500,000 and require 15% of the adjusted gross revenue each year in sports pools to be paid to the Lottery Commission.
The bill would repeal the prohibition on other Class III Gaming and the exception for the tribes, opening the door for other games and entities to be involved.
Sen. Casey Murdock, R-Felt, the author, said the measure would help in the negotiations process with the tribes. The bill is a 'work in progress,' he said, adding that there will be many changes to it.
The measure passed by a vote of 6-5 and heads to the Senate Appropriations Committee.
Senate Bill 585 would allow the Oklahoma City Thunder to receive a gaming license for sports betting in the state, said Coleman, the author
'Today, this is the best bet I have seen,' he said.
The bill would allow the tribes to take in-person bets at casinos and mobile sports betting on tribal land, Coleman said.
The Thunder would be in charge of mobile sports betting on non-tribal land, he said.
The state would receive 10% of the net sportsbook revenues, which is estimated to be $20 million annually, he said.
The income generated will help the team, Coleman said.
The starting salary cap for the team was $55 million when the team came to the city, he said. It is now $140 million, Coleman said.
He said the measure will further solidify the team staying in Oklahoma City.
But the tribes and the Thunder would need an agreement before the bill moves forward, Coleman said.
The Oklahoma Indian Gaming Association and the Oklahoma City Thunder have a meeting next week, he said.
'So, we have accomplished getting them to the table,' Coleman said.
Senate Bill 585 passed by a vote of 8-2 and heads to the Senate floor.
SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
Caitlin Clark, Reggie Miller, Oscar Robertson among those in crowd for Game 3 of NBA Finals
NBA Hall of Famers Reggie Miller, left, and Oscar Robertson sit courtside prior to Game 3 of the NBA Finals basketball series between the Indiana Pacers and the Oklahoma City Thunder, Wednesday, June 11, 2025, in Indianapolis. (AP Photo/Michael Conroy) Indian Fever basketball players Caitlin Clark, right, and Aliyah Boston watch during the first half of Game 3 of the NBA Finals basketball series between the Indiana Pacers and the Oklahoma City Thunder, Wednesday, June 11, 2025, in Indianapolis. (AP Photo/Michael Conroy) Indian Fever basketball players Caitlin Clark, right, and Aliyah Boston watch during the first half of Game 3 of the NBA Finals basketball series between the Indiana Pacers and the Oklahoma City Thunder, Wednesday, June 11, 2025, in Indianapolis. (AP Photo/Michael Conroy) NBA Hall of Famers Reggie Miller, left, and Oscar Robertson sit courtside prior to Game 3 of the NBA Finals basketball series between the Indiana Pacers and the Oklahoma City Thunder, Wednesday, June 11, 2025, in Indianapolis. (AP Photo/Michael Conroy) Indian Fever basketball players Caitlin Clark, right, and Aliyah Boston watch during the first half of Game 3 of the NBA Finals basketball series between the Indiana Pacers and the Oklahoma City Thunder, Wednesday, June 11, 2025, in Indianapolis. (AP Photo/Michael Conroy) INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Caitlin Clark wasn't going to miss the NBA Finals, taking a baseline seat to cheer on the Indiana Pacers on Wednesday night. The WNBA star — wearing a yellow T-shirt emblazoned with the famed 'In 49 other states it's just basketball. But this is Indiana' saying along with a finals logo — was seated with Indiana Fever teammates Aliyah Boston and Natasha Howard for the game, in the same end of the floor as the Pacers' bench. Advertisement The Pacers were taking on the Oklahoma City Thunder in Game 3 of the NBA Finals. It was the first Indiana home game in the NBA's title series since 2000. Among the other Indiana basketball royalty at the game: Hall of Famers Oscar Robertson and Reggie Miller, both seated near the court as well, along with Mark Jackson, Dale Davis and many other former Pacers. Former Indianapolis Colts star Edgerrin James also was among those in the crowd. And plenty of auto racing stars were at the game as well — including Alex Palou, the winner of this year's Indianapolis 500. He arrived for the game in a pace car from Indianapolis Motor Speedway, which was lit up in gold for the evening as a Pacers tribute. Clark and the Fever have been regular attendees at Pacers games during this playoff run when their schedule allows. The Fever don't play again until Saturday, at home against the defending WNBA champion New York Liberty. Clark has been sidelined with a thigh injury, but it's possible she returns to the lineup on Saturday. ___ AP NBA:
Boston Globe
an hour ago
- Boston Globe
Lean budget threatens to spark public college turf war
Get The Gavel A weekly SCOTUS explainer newsletter by columnist Kimberly Atkins Stohr. Enter Email Sign Up At this May's meeting, after a presentation about an upcoming advertising campaign for state financial aid programs, Pedraja expressed concern that helping low-income students attend four-year schools would take money away from free community college. Advertisement 'We are very concerned that shouting from the treetops that our public four-year institutions are free for certain students based on income will further deplete very limited financial aid for the whole system,' Pedraja said. Advertisement Pedraja said that financial aid money is expected to be tight next year, and free community college is codified in statute, while the MASSGrant Plus expansion is not. 'Not to take away from the importance of marketing toward these students and making education available for all, which I do believe, we ought to be cautious about over-promising to students who are most in need of support,' Pedraja said. In a follow-up interview, Pedraja doubled down on his concern that the state is 'over-promising' by advertising free four-year college for low-income students. He again emphasized the distinction between free community college, which is codified in law, and other financial aid, which comes from a pot of money that can run out. Practically, however, this is a distinction without a difference — at least legally, if not politically. Pedraja is correct that free community college is codified in the Department of Higher Education spokesperson Nicole Giambusso confirmed that free community college and the MASSGrant Plus expansion are both subject to annual appropriations. The House and Senate budget proposals for fiscal 2026 both include money for all these programs, although the Senate's funding level is somewhat higher. State Senator Jo Comerford, Senate chair of the Joint Committee on Higher Education, said lawmakers see these programs as coming from different pockets of money. 'One does not cannibalize each other,' Comerford told me. Advertisement When free community college was established, expanding aid for all low-income students was seen as key to ensuring that students who are qualified to attend a four-year university won't be channeled into community college just because it's free. After all, according to There are potential funding sources — like money collected from the surtax on income over $1 million — that could be tapped to keep both programs running. 'I don't think it should be either/or,' Bridgewater State University President Frederick Clark told me. 'I don't think the segments should be working at cross purposes. We should be leaning in to make sure funding is adequate for financial aid for all students.' It is true that in a tight budget year, lawmakers have to make choices. Policy makers should be honest in crafting their budget around what can realistically be funded. In our interview, Pedraja said he 'would love for everybody to have more access to higher education.' But the troubling implication of his statement is that if there is a Sophie's choice to be made, Massachusetts should prioritize aid for community college students, regardless of income, over low-income students at four-year schools. If the state wants to help the most students achieve their academic potential, that is the wrong approach. Instead, the guiding principle should be helping each student attend the college that's right for them. Advertisement As these financial aid programs continue, state policy makers should collect data to determine their impact. Which aid programs are boosting college enrollment and also college completion rates and postgraduation employment? Are other ways of improving college success working, like If hard choices have to be made about funding, they should be based on which programs most help students succeed. Shira Schoenberg can be reached at
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
With Baumgartner in audience, Trump signs bill blocking Washington's electric vehicle mandate; state sues in response
Jun. 12—WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump on Thursday signed legislation into law that blocks Washington and other states from following California's lead in phasing out gas-powered vehicles. Rep. Michael Baumgartner of Spokane was among dozens of Republican lawmakers invited to the White House for the occasion, which the president used to riff on a variety of topics in addition to the bill. Between calling Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell "a numbskull" and highlighting his own popularity on TikTok, Trump celebrated the revocation of Biden-era waivers from the Environmental Protection Agency that let California impose stricter vehicle emissions standards than the federal government. After the Biden administration allowed California to ban the sale of gas-powered cars starting in 2035, Washington followed suit in 2022, requiring that all new cars sold in the state be either fully electric or plug-in hybrids. A total of 17 states has adopted similar rules that the newly signed law revokes. "The automakers didn't know what to do, because they're really building cars for two countries," Trump said. "When you have 17 states, you're building cars for two countries." In an interview before the bill-signing ceremony, Baumgartner said the California regulation and its progeny would have been devastating to the U.S. economy. "There does not exist the ability to magically create electric semi-trucks that move nearly 70% of the goods that Americans consume, so it would have been crippling to our economy if this rule was left in place," he said. "You can't run semi-trucks across America on unicorn laughter and aspirational dreams of environmental extremists." To revoke the waivers, the EPA issued under a previous administration, lawmakers invoked the Congressional Review Act, which allowed them to skirt the 60-vote supermajority required to pass most bills in the Senate. They did so despite the nonpartisan Government Accountability Office and the Senate parliamentarian, the chamber's neutral adviser on rules, both informing senators that the EPA waivers didn't count as the executive-branch rules for which the act applies. Despite near-unanimous opposition from Democratic senators, the bill revoking California's waivers received significant bipartisan support in the House, plus a single Democratic senator, Michigan's Elissa Slotkin. Trump was surprised on Thursday when a GOP lawmaker in the room told him 35 House Democrats had voted in favor. One of them was Rep. Marie Gluesenkamp Perez of southwest Washington, who runs an auto repair shop with her husband and has been a frequent critic of her party's push to speed a transition to electric vehicles. Shortly after Thursday's ceremony concluded, Washington state Attorney General Nick Brown and California Attorney General Rob Bonta announced a joint lawsuit with nine other states challenging the elimination of California's waiver. The suit alleges that the resolution violates the separation of powers, the Take Care Clause and multiple federal statutes, including the Congressional Review Act and Administrative Procedure Act. In the lawsuit, the plaintiff states allege that the Congressional Review Act has "never before been used in any context that resembles this one. It has certainly never been used, as it was here, to negate particular state laws." The lawsuit seeks to have the resolution declared unlawful and to require the federal government to implement the Clean Air Act consistent with the granted waivers. "Transportation is the single greatest contributor to greenhouse gas pollution in Washington, and our residents understand the transition to zero-emission vehicles is critical in the fight against climate change," Brown said in a statement Thursday. "This is the Trump administration's latest unlawful attempt to derail Washington's and the nation's transition to a clean future." At the White House, Trump railed against Democrats' efforts to use state and federal laws to phase out gas-powered vehicles — the country's biggest single source of greenhouse gas emissions — and speed the adoption of wind, solar and other low-carbon energy sources. "They're making you buy stuff that doesn't work," the president said. "You should be given the option to buy the electric car, by a gasoline-powered car, buy a hybrid. Probably not hydrogen, because hydrogen has the tendency that when it blows up, you're gonzo. It's over." After the room broke out in laughter at that line, Trump turned to Rep. Steve Scalise and said, "It'll make your accident look like peanuts," apparently referring to the 2017 shooting that left the Louisiana Republican in critical condition. Washington state officials have taken steps in recent days to prepare for the new federal law. In a June 6 memo, the Washington State Department of Ecology notified vehicle manufacturers that it would temporarily pause compliance requirements for some vehicle categories. "This recent federal action introduces new uncertainty for states, manufacturers, and consumers at a time when both businesses and consumers are making real progress in reducing the transportation sector's greenhouse gas emissions," Ecology Director Casey Sixkiller said in a statement June 6. "It undermines states' rights, negatively impacts public health, and puts U.S. automakers at a competitive disadvantage in a global market that is rapidly transitioning to zero-emission vehicle technology." Sixkiller added that the agency would work with legislators, industry partners, local governments and other states to "stay on track and ensure continued progress toward our climate and public health goals." After the federal bill cleared the Senate in late May, Gov. Bob Ferguson said in a statement that the action was "brazenly out of step with the law, science, and public will." "For more than 50 years, states have possessed the ability to adopt stronger vehicle emissions standards to protect public health. Washington has exercised that right, along with 17 other states, resulting in cleaner air and healthier communities," Ferguson said. "Despite this retreat from public health by the federal government, I'm committed to ensuring Washington moves forward on building a healthier, cleaner future." Thursday's bill signing drew praise of the Washington Trucking Association, which said it remains committed to working with Washington lawmakers and the Department of Ecology on a "workable path to electrification." "California's EV trucking mandates have been a disaster for states like Washington, and have caused real harm to the trucking industry, a key link in our trade-dependent state's supply chain network," the association's president and CEO, Sheri Call, said in a statement. "Washington state does not have the infrastructure in place to properly institute such a sweeping mandate like this, and the technology has not advanced enough yet to support the trucking industry's rapid transition to clean energy. Our neighbors in Oregon recently opted out of these mandates for these same reasons." Vicki Giles Fabré, vice president of the Washington State Auto Dealers Association, said that Washington's franchised new car and truck dealers have "made substantial investments in electrification and remain committed to selling electric and hybrid vehicles." "The Washington State Auto Dealers Association intends to work with state policymakers to find solutions that incentivize increased adoption of these vehicles, while also supporting the needs of franchised dealers, their employees, and the customers they serve," Fabré said in a statement Wednesday. According to Sixkiller, one in five new vehicles sold today runs on zero-emission technology. "We're not going to slow down that progress. Washingtonians already experience the impacts of climate change every year, from drought and wildfire to flooding and sea-level rise," Sixkiller said in a statement following the Attorney General's lawsuit. "As our Attorney General's Office fights to protect our state's rights, we'll continue working with the Legislature, industry partners, local governments, and other states to continue our progress on clean transportation. At a time of great uncertainty, that's a promise we can keep." Orion Donovan Smith's work is funded in part by members of the Spokane community via the Community Journalism and Civic Engagement Fund. This story can be republished by other organizations for free under a Creative Commons license. For more information on this, please contact our newspaper's managing editor.
