In Oklahoma, House Bill 1027 sailed past the Committee on Appropriations and Budget, 27-4. Big deal. The same sports betting proposal made it to the House floor last year only to see it stop without another vote.
The deadline is March 23 for the chamber to act on Rep. Ken Luttrell’s bill. Enough time, but a source says the gap between Governor Kevin Stitt and the gaming tribes is too wide.
“It’s a good thing the bill was kept alive,” the source told Legal Sports Report. “But it’s a placeholder at best for what may or may not transpire.”
Should the legislation become law, it requires a minimum of four tribes to participate with updated compacts.
The tax structure is:
- 4 percent for the first $5 million;
- 5 percent on the next $5 million;
- 6 percent on anything above $10 million.
Governor Stitt told the Oklahoman he has met with “a couple of tribes” about sports betting, as well as the NBA‘s Oklahoma City Thunder.
“I’m just trying to set the big vision and say, here’s what I’m looking for … Let’s go make this happen. Let’s make sure we learn from these other 40 states, or 25, or however many already have the sportsbook,” Stitt said.
Oklahoma Indian Gaming Association Chairman Matthew Morgan told the Tulsa World that some tribal leaders are apprehensive about working with Stitt.
“I think we can all agree sports betting is occurring already in the state and that the state and tribes would love to add that as a form of gaming,” Morgan told the Tulsa World. “But what does that proposal really look like in terms of who’s taking the risk and how the revenue is split up?”
Another potential barrier is Senate President Pro Tempore Greg Treat. He doesn’t see it as a priority.
“The governor putting his weight behind it will make a difference probably, but I want to make sure everything we do is comprehensive,” Treat said on KOCO 5. “So, I’m not saying, ‘Let’s go pass sports betting,’ and be done with it unless we have a comprehensive discussion.”
In related legislative news, on the final day to file bills for this year, Kentucky lawmakers recorded more than 100 pieces of legislation. One of those pieces came from state Rep. Michael Meredith. HB 551 would legalize sports betting in the state.
That’s far from a guarantee, even with the strong support of Governor Andy Beshear. Last year, the House approved a version, but the Senate couldn’t muster the votes.
Meredith’s bill would offer a license to each of the state’s nine race tracks, and each track could partner with three sportsbooks. Fees cost participating tracks $500,000 for the initial year. Sports betting operators pay $50,000. Annual fees then cost $50,000 for the tracks and $10,000 for the mobile operator.
Mobile sportsbooks pay a 14.25 percent tax on adjusted gross revenues. Retail sportsbooks have a tax rate of 9.75 percent. Bettors—18 and up—can wager on pro and college sports, the Olympics, World Cup, and electronic sports and video game contests.
The Kentucky Horse Racing Commission would regulate sports betting. The Commonwealth would create a sports wagering administrative fund, with the tax and license fees covering the cost of overseeing sports betting. Leftover revenues go to the Kentucky public pension program.
“Clearly, the cost of doing business here must cover the cost of administering this program. However, we felt strongly that this was an opportunity to use the revenue to do some good,” Meredith told the Interior Journal.
According to GeoComply, there were about 180,000 active accounts set up by Kentuckians who drove across the border to Indiana, Tennessee, West Virginia, Virginia, Illinois and Ohio to place their bets during the NFL season.
“Statistics show that more than half of our state’s population supports legalizing sports wagering. The time has come to ask ourselves if it truly is in the best interest of the people of Kentucky to prevent adults from legally placing a bet,” Meredith said.
Meanwhile, the Minnesota legislature is winding its way through the process of getting a sports betting bill passed, but even with some recent successes, the legislation has some significant hurdles ahead.
One of those is the language in the bill considering problem gambling. There is definitely more emphasis on the issue than there was in last year’s bill, which didn’t get out of the Senate.
Still, one group would like to see even more done to address problem gambling. Susan Sheridan Tucker with the Minnesota Alliance on Problem Gambling, who has neither endorsed nor opposed the bill, said there can be even more done to strengthen the legislation.
“Operators and their licensees will be collecting quite a bit of data that can help answer many questions that researchers have concerning gambling behaviors and can provide insights into whether more individuals are becoming addicted to gambling,” Tucker told local outlet KNSI.
The bill does financially assist the Minnesota Alliance on Problem Gambling, putting aside 40 percent of revenue to help with programs.
Rep. Zack Stephenson is the sponsor of the bill and like his similar 2022 legislation has Minnesota’s 11 Native American tribes getting exclusive access to both retail and mobile sports betting.
That would exclude horse racing tracks, something Rep. Brad Tabke said was unacceptable. He said he Is working on an amendment to the bill that would include racetracks.
While some legislators want to treat the race tracks equally, Rep. Jamie Becker-Finn told a committee that tribal nations should have a monopoly.
“They are sovereign tribal nations with those rights, and our own constitution, the U.S. Constitution, says so,” Becker-Finn said. “The supreme law of the land is those treaties, and those sovereign tribal nations are at a different standing. They should not be at the same level as any other commercial business.”
This could be an issue that once again kills the bill. If the bill is going to pass it would have to be resolved. The House and Senate don’t have much time, as the 2023 session ends May 22.
