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Oklahoma governor vetoes sweepstakes casino ban bill

Legal Writer

Publish Date: May 13, 2026

Fact checked by: Matt Moreno

Key Points

Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt has rejected a measure that would have made the operation of an online sweepstakes casino explicitly illegal in the state.
The bill passed by veto-proof margins in both chambers of the Oklahoma legislature if sponsors want to push for an override.
Language strengthening tribal exclusivity over gaming in Oklahoma may have influenced Stitt’s decision.

For the time being, Oklahoma will not become the 10th jurisdiction in the United States with an explicit ban on online casino-style games that use a sweepstakes model to award prizes to players. Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt has vetoed the bill that the legislature sent him to put such a ban in place.

While Stitt has not yet provided comment on his decision to veto the legislation, key language in the proposal tied legal forms of gaming within Oklahoma’s borders to tribal gaming authorities. As a result, the veto could be another form of Stitt’s actions to counter tribal exclusivity over gambling in Oklahoma.

concept of online casino and mobile casino

Stitt rejects SB 1589

Stitt vetoed SB 1589 on May 7, but the governor’s website does not yet include a statement as to that decision as of the time of this writing. Regardless of his motivation, the fact is that the bill has failed for the time being.

As engrossed for transmission to Stitt, SB 1589 enshrined provisions defining the operation, promotion, or service of sweepstakes casino websites as violations of Oklahoma’s gambling laws. Convictions along those lines carry possible penalties of fines up to $2,000 and possible incarceration.

The bill also provided a definition for the “dual-currency” system that many sweepstakes casinos use, making it part and parcel of the illegal gambling activity that the legislation described. Enshrining those tenets now depends on whether there is significant support in the legislature for a veto override.

SB 1589 originally passed with veto-proof margins

The Oklahoma House approved SB 1589 by a 65-21 margin, while the Senate passed the bill unanimously. Repeating those votes would be sufficient to override Stitt’s veto and encode the provisions of the proposal into law in Oklahoma.

That could be a possibility given the recent history of the legislature’s reactions to Stitt’s vetoes. Robby Korth, Lionel Ramos, and Graycen Wheeler of KOSU reported that the legislature broke a single-year record in 2025 by overriding 45 of Stitt’s 68 vetoes and starting the process for five more potential overrides.

Another factor playing into the override potential is tribal support for SB 1589. As evidenced by an opinion piece for the Oklahoma Policy Institute, tribal casino operators view sweepstakes casinos as competition for their enterprises and threats to their gaming compacts.

SB 1589 contains a provision that limits legal gambling in the state to activity under the purview of charitable gaming or tribal compact gambling. While that tenet may have secured the endorsement of tribal authorities within Oklahoma’s borders, it may also be why Stitt vetoed SB 1589.

Stitt’s desire to see Oklahoma open to commercial gaming

Other factors may have played a role in Stitt’s veto, but his history of actions intended to introduce competition for tribal gaming in Oklahoma has been clear and consistent. For example, in 2023, legislators and the state’s attorney general considered excluding Stitt from compact renewal negotiations because “Stitt’s ongoing feud with many of the Native American tribes in the state has grown so contentious," according to Sean Murphy of the Associated Press.

More recently, Thomas Pablo of KOSU reports that Stitt advocated for limits on tribal sovereignty in his 2026 State of the State address. Stitt may have viewed the language of SB 1589 as strengthening tribal exclusivity over gaming in Oklahoma.

With Stitt’s veto, the last hope for SB 1589 to become law lies with leadership in the Oklahoma House of Representatives and Senate. Without the will to override the veto in the legislature, the bill will join the list of failed sweepstakes casino bans in 2026.

If you are looking for more sweepstakes news and updates, be sure to visit our Ballislife Play page.

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