It also adds hunting, sporting and fishing tournaments to the list of events, such as rodeos, that are exempt from Oklahoma's anti-commercial gambling statutes. The measure passed, 41-3, without debate. The bill now goes to the House for consideration. A lot of hunters in my area were not too happy with his opinion,'' said Shurden, D-Henryetta. Money hunts usually involve hounds that are put on the trail of raccoons.
Participants pay entrance fees, which are pooled for cash prizes.
In a opinion several weeks ago, Edmondson held the events are illegal in certain circumstances. In addition to coon hunters, fishing tournament organizers reacted strongly to the decision, saying they feared it would affect them. Edmondson later said his opinion was being misconstrued, saying it would not affect fishing tournaments or similar events that have a sponsoring organization. But Shurden said he was taking no chances and placed the money hunt and raffle provisions in a bill that makes it a crime for an employer to give an employee a hot check. Under current law, hot checks distributed by employers fall under the civil statutes.