Despite industry optimism coming into the day, the Oklahoma Senate on Wednesday voted against the latest effort to legalize online and retail sports betting in the state. The vote shook out 27-21 against state Sen. Bill Coleman’s amended version of HB 1047.
In May 2025, a pair of bills to legalize sports wagering died in the Senate, but hopes began to stir anew last fall when a proposal favored by the state’s one major professional sports team, the NBA’s Oklahoma City Thunder, materialized.
On Tuesday, Coleman and Rep. Ken Luttrell announced they were ready to proceed with a new version of the bill that was supported by the Thunder and a supermajority of the tribes that are members of the Oklahoma Indian Gaming Association. Just one day later, Coleman had the chance to present the bill on the Senate floor, but he did not get the outcome he was seeking.
The proposal would have allowed tribes to offer retail sports betting while also permitting mobile betting under a framework in which digital operators, such as FanDuel and DraftKings, could partner with tribes.
There was also special language requiring revenue derived from NBA and WNBA bets to be allocated to a program called the Strong Readers Fund, while revenue generated from other wagers would benefit, among other recipients, a Thunder-backed tourism fund.
“This is a big day for Oklahoma,” Coleman said Tuesday in optimistically presenting the new bill. “We’re closer than we’ve ever been to legalizing sports betting.”
They weren’t as close as he thought, however, and barring a re-vote with a different outcome, Coleman’s proposed Nov. 1, 2026 sports betting start date is out the window.
Coleman plays the prediction markets card
The bill was discussed for about 25 minutes during Wednesday afternoon’s Senate session. One legislator voiced opposition by saying legalized sports betting will lead to an increase in problem gambling in Oklahoma. Coleman countered, “The problem is it is here right now with prediction markets. It’s legal, you can legally make that bet in Oklahoma right now on this floor, and we don’t make a dime from it, and they don’t have any laws.”
Coleman said after the votes were tallied that he will push for a re-vote.
Even if HB 1047 had passed, there remain strong doubts about Gov. Kevin Stitt’s support. Stitt had said in response to prior efforts to regulate sports betting that he would only sign legislation granting an online sports betting market without a requirement for tribal partnerships, though he supported allowing tribes to run their own retail sportsbooks.
