Having 135-plus tribal casinos and a statewide lottery is not enough opportunity to gamble for some people.

The Republican-led Legislature and Gov. Mary Fallin expanded casino gambling by permitting craps and roulette to tribal casinos.

Now, the focus is on letting Oklahomans legally vote on college football and other sporting events.

The tribes want it and with the makeup of the new Legislature in February, they will probably get it.

The liberal Tulsa World and the TV stations are already running stories about how Oklahoma is “behind the times” by not rushing ahead into sport gambling. By the way, it’s not “gaming” – it’s “gambling.”

Six states have already made this move and opened sports betting operations while three other states have legalized sports betting.

It could be a reality in Oklahoma by next summer.

And this is in light of the renegotiations scheduled between the state and the tribes concerning the gambling pacts that expire in 2019.

There are so many problems with sports gambling. First, it happens illegally all over the place and it has for years. Law enforcement rarely gives it a second glance. The only time it becomes an issue is when games are fixed to win bets.

And you can bet that will increase if the state government sanctions sports betting.

Chamber of commerce gurus argue that increasing gambling opportunities is “economic development” because suckers from non-sports gambling states would flock to Oklahoma tribal casinos to lose money on their favorite NFL team or NCAA team. While they are here losing – and it’s a fact that gamblers will lose – they will stay in a hotel and eat at a restaurant.

This is wrong headed.  Gambling destroys lives and families. Oklahoma doesn’t need to create more problems.