Author: Ryan Butler

Congress’ latest sports betting flirtation will, once again, likely lead to little significant action. That’s just fine in the sports betting industry’s eyes.

The Supreme Court’s landmark ruling that most of eastern Oklahoma is part of a Native American reservation will have little immediate impact on the daily operations of the state and an even less dramatic impact on tribal gaming, officials say.

Halfway through what sports betting advocates hoped would be the most fruitful year for new legislation, the COVID-19 pandemic has further tangled what is already a difficult legislative process.

What was shaping as the busiest year for U.S. sports betting legislation in recent memory was, like nearly every other legislative endeavor, curtailed by the COVID-19 pandemic.

UPDATE July 2, 10:30 a.m.: The court granted the tribes’ petition ahead of Thursday’s hearing. Native American groups now have until Oct. 12, 2020 to gather the signatures required to place the sports betting question on the 2022 ballot. California’s next best hope for legal sports betting will go before a court Thursday.

The federal government has permitted two Oklahoma Native American tribes to take in-person sports wagers, but a state Supreme Court ruling could thwart legal betting in the Sooner State before it begins.

The federal government has signed off on two Oklahoma gaming compacts that would legalize sports betting. When – or if – the Sooner State can take its first bet at Oklahoma sportsbooks remains to be seen.

By suspending the in-person registration requirement for online sports betting in Illinois, Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker has – at least temporarily – expanded the potential for his state’s nascent sports betting market.