Outlined on a one-page PDF, the governor’s pitch includes an initial $500,000 licensing fee and an annual $100,000 renewal fee for mobile betting operators. Stitt, who took office in January 2019 and clashed with many tribal leaders later that year when he attempted to renegotiate the state’s Model Tribal Gaming Compact as it approached the end of its 25-year initial term, announced Thursday that his sports betting proposal would allow Oklahomans to place in-person bets at gaming sites operated by federally recognized tribal nations and place bets on mobile devices. Supreme Court struck down a federal prohibition in 2018. Stitt announced his purported plan late Thursday afternoon while he was in Israel, triggering confusion and conversation among lobbyists and legislators who have sought some sort of path forward for years that would allow Oklahoma to legalize sports wagering like more than 30 other states have done since the U.S. Kevin Stitt caught legislative leaders off guard by announcing a “plan” to legalize sports betting in Oklahoma, House Speaker Charles McCall is preparing to host an interim study discussion with officials from the state’s four largest tribes on the topic of state-tribal compacts, a subject of enormous tension over the past five years.
