The two NBA Conference Finals leave bettors in one series with multiple legal sportsbooks and would-be bettors in the other without any.
Key takeaways
- The Eastern Conference Finals will be played in states with many legal sportsbooks; the Western Conference Finals will be in states with none.
- An Oklahoma sports betting bill failed after tribal leaders opposed a non-exclusive model.
- A 2025 Minnesota sports wagering bill failed in its first vote due to concerns over addiction and taxes.
The New York Knicks and Indiana Pacers meet in the Eastern Conference Finals, where the teams play every game in a state with at least nine legal mobile sportsbooks. The Minnesota Timberwolves and Oklahoma City Thunder will compete in the Western Conference Finals in states without legal sportsbooks.
Minnesota and Oklahoma remain two of 11 states that haven’t approved any form of legal sports betting.
Oklahoma sports betting efforts fall just short
The favored Thunder wouldn't have had a legal betting option in time for this year’s Conference Finals. Lawmakers were just a few votes away from passing legislation that could have allowed legal books by next season’s tip off.
A bill that would permit sports betting on Oklahoma tribal lands passed the state House of Representatives and advanced to the Senate floor but wasn't taken up for a vote. Lawmakers couldn't reach consensus on the structure for legal sports betting in the state, killing the proposal just short of potential passage.
Gov. Kevin Stitt was one of the bill's most outspoken opponents. While he's supported legal sportsbooks, he's also pushed for a more open model that lets businesses and other entities beyond the tribes accept sports bets.
Let me be clear: I support sports betting in Oklahoma – provided that it’s fair, transparent, and the state can maximize revenue potential to invest in top priorities, like education. More to come.
— Governor Kevin Stitt (@GovStitt) January 3, 2023
This was a non-starter for the state’s roughly three-dozen gaming tribes, which argue they have exclusive rights to gambling such as sports betting. The tribes opposed any bill that allows other groups to take bets, including a proposal introduced this year that would have given the Thunder the right to partner with a third-party operator.
The tribes said publicly they'll wait for a bill that maintains exclusive sports betting rights within their purview, even if that means holding off until Stitt’s second and final term as governor ends in 2027.
In the meantime, Oklahoma bettors will be without legal betting options for this playoff series – and, potentially, more in the future.
Minnesota sports betting bill stalls out early
A once promising sports betting legalization effort in Minnesota didn’t pass its first vote.
Minnesota legal sports betting had bipartisan support in recent legislative sessions, but couldn’t gain traction over differences between a tribal-exclusive model and a version that would allow sportsbook licenses for the state’s horse tracks and charitable gaming organizations.
After a 2024 bill died due to the contrasting views, stakeholders announced a compromise agreement ahead of the 2025 session. Proponents thought they'd cleared the major roadblock that would push through legal sportsbooks.
NBA Conference Finals Series combined legal sportsbooks by teams' home state:
— Ryan Butler (@ButlerBets) May 20, 2025
Eastern Conference (New York and Indiana): 20
Western Conference (Minnesota and Oklahoma): 0
Instead, members of both parties voiced concerns about gambling addiction and taxes, among other issues, and the proposal couldn’t advance past its first vote.
The 2025 session was delayed weeks after lawmakers failed to agree to approve leadership. The state missed its budget deadline and must complete the process in a special session set to be called in the coming days.
Sports betting proponents introduced a second attempt at the compromise sports betting bill but it too gained no traction, leaving little hope sports wagering is legalized in 2025. Advocates believe they have the framework in place for a sports betting deal all Minnesota gaming stakeholders can support, but it still has to overcome bipartisan skepticism that likely returns for the 2026 session.
Eastern Conference Finals offer ample betting options
The prohibitions in the two Western Conference Finals host states contrast the wide range of options for Eastern Conference hosts.
New York, the largest legal sports betting market by handle, has nine licensed mobile sportsbooks, including leading national brands FanDuel, DraftKings, BetMGM, Fanatics and Caesars. There are also in-person books at upstate casinos.
Indiana offers 11, one of the United States' highest per capita figures . In 2019, the Hoosier State became one of the first to approve legal sportsbooks, passing a legalization bill roughly a year after the Supreme Court struck down the federal wagering ban.
This dichotomy between the conferences guarantees the NBA Finals will be played in one state with at least nine legal sportsbooks and another with zero.
