At the Global Gaming Expo (G2E) last week Matt Morgan, head of the Oklahoma Indian Gaming Association (OIGA), said that while tribes are open to discussing the future of sports betting, they’ll stand still until Governor Kevin Stitt moves on or changes his position.
Stitt, who became Oklahoma’s governor in 2018, has had a difficult relationship with Indian country. He has been sued by lawmakers over compact negotiations and has alienated the tribes by trying to dictate what legal wagering will look like without considering sovereignty or exclusivity.
Oklahoma is the second biggest tribal market in the US behind California and has a robust land-based casino industry. The state’s 39 tribes operate more than 125 gaming locations, including some that draw customers from neighbouring Texas. But legal sports betting remains elusive.
The tribes have exclusivity for gaming in Oklahoma. Despite that, Stitt last year outlined a legal wagering framework that included tribal and commercial gaming. It would have given the tribes retail sports betting and allowed commercial operators to offer digital wagering. Across the US in legal betting states, approximately 90% of revenue is derived from digital betting.
Tribes say governor disrespectful
The proposal has few supporters and Indian country reacted negatively. Morgan at the time said in a statement that Stitt “has not engaged in meaningful and respectful government-to-government discussion with tribes”.
Senator Casey Murdoch introduced a bill based on Stitt’s plan in February. The bill was referred to the rules and appropriations committee, but never got hearings.
“Upon initial review, we do not believe the plan represents the best interests for the people of Oklahoma or the tribal nations that have done so much to support the state,” Choctaw Nation Chief Gary Batton said in a statement to the Oklahoma Voice.
Prior to that, Stitt signed compacts with two small tribes in the state in an effort to legalise. The move was poorly received in all corners of the state. Legislators sued the governor, a state court deemed the compacts invalid and the two tribes were expelled from OIGA.
Stitt’s relationship with the tribes has drawn the attention of Indian country from coast to coast.
“Partner with the tribes. Don’t try to fight the tribes. Partner with them,” Susan Jenson of the California Nations Indian Gaming Association told KOCO News in August during the OIGA conference.
Stitt term-limits out in 2026
This time around, Senator Bill Coleman told News Channel 8 in September he’ll bring a bill in 2025 due to “demand” in the state. He said the state is losing tax revenue to other jurisdictions. Coleman did not share details in his announcement.
Morgan said last week that Oklahoma’s tribes are open to the discussion, but they remain cautious.
“Our members remain united to move our industry, our communities and our state forward and will work with any partners who share that vision,” Morgan said during a ‘Tribal Sovereignty and Sports Betting: A Delicate Balance’ G2E panel. “We have several new faces in the state legislature and new leadership in each chamber and we’ll see where the legislature and Governor Stitt’s priorities lie.”
Stitt, who traces his roots to the Cherokee Nation, will term-limit out of office in 2026.
