Oklahoma Governor Mary Fallin recently signed HB 3375, which allows tribal casinos to offer “ball and dice” games. The roulette and craps games are expected to generate $24 million a year, with $21 million going to education.
Lawmakers did not pass an emergency clause for the bill, so it won’t take effect immediately. Originally the bill included a sports betting provision but state Rep. Kevin Wallace, the bill’s sponsor, removed that last March. Wallace didn’t give a reason for the action but observers said powerful tribal interests were behind it. The state’s 60-plus casinos are operated by 32 tribes, who are said to prefer to wait to see if sports betting is worth rewriting their gaming compacts.
Craps and roulette have been illegal in Oklahoma since 2004. The approved games are not house-banked, but pay wins from a players’ pool.
Previously, Oklahoma casinos have offer their own versions of “ball and dice” games, known as “Bonus Craps” and “Bonus Roulette,” which use electronic cards instead of roulette wheels and dice, while showing video versions of wheels spinning and dice being tossed.
This is the second consecutive year sports betting measures have failed. Last year, state Rep. Leslie Osborn co-sponsored a bill to legalize sports betting but it stalled in committee.
The sports betting provision of HB 3375 would have applied a 10 percent tax rate on sports wagering revenue, but it didn’t address how sports wagering would be conducted or regulated.
