OKLAHOMA — All sports betting legislation died on the floor of the Oklahoma State Senate on Thursday.

Two bills dealing with ways to legalize sports betting in the state failed to get a vote from the full Senate chamber before a critical deadline on Thursday.

Both bills were one vote away from reaching their final destinations.

One destination was the governor’s desk, where Governor Kevin Stitt had already threatened to veto it, saying it was a cash giveaway to the state’s tribes. The other was one vote away from giving it to Oklahomans to vote on in a future statewide ballot measure, should the governor veto the measure.

While sports betting has received unanimous bipartisan support in the Oklahoma House of Representatives for multiple sessions, the State Senate approving it out of committee a few weeks ago was the furthest sports betting legislation had ever advanced in the upper chamber.

FOX23 is told that the sides that are needed to implement this among tribes, the governor, and other parties, no one was talking to each other to get a deal done to implement sports betting, had the state legislature or the people of Oklahoma legalized it.

The senator leading legalization efforts in his chamber State Sen. Bill Coleman (R-Ponca City) released the following statement:

“I’ve been working on sports betting for years and truly believe Oklahoma is missing out on a significant opportunity—both economically and in terms of consumer protection. While I was initially skeptical, further research and conversations with industry leaders have shown me the significant safeguards in place to address issues like addictive behavior. Although the legislation did not move forward this session, the issue is far from dead. The biggest challenge I have noticed through this process has been a lack of communication—no one is sitting down and talking through this. That’s why I’m seriously considering hosting an interim study this summer to bring all stakeholders to the table. If we want a responsible and effective path forward on sports betting, we need to build it together.”