Jul12
Oklahoma Looks to Hinder Tribal Casinos from Introducing Class III Gaming Offer
February 2, 2020 TamaraTam
The situation with Oklahoma Tribes has become serious over the last few weeks. Attorneys for Governor Kevin Stitt have just submitted a petition seeking the court to prevent the activity of Class III electronic games offered by local tribes. According to the proposal, a separate trust is to be constituted to collect the tribal revenues for the state while the case gets resolved. The petition is filed following a lawsuit submitted by the Chickasaw, Cherokee and Choctaw nations – three of the most influential Native American tribes in Oklahoma. They are looking for more details regarding the gambling dispute with the governor and expect an immediate response.
Tribal Activity
Oklahoma governor, Kevin Stitt, explained that the gaming compacts with tribes lapsed on January 1st, which means that casino gambling became illegal beginning from that moment. He further expressed the interest in expanding the deal with tribes, while looking for better conditions for the state. Stitt wants to ensure higher participation in compact revenues as well as the equal allocation of fees among 30+ local tribes. Additionally, the governor insisted that retailers not sur national market rates.
The Oklahoma governor has more specific ideas for local tribes. His intention is to end a contract with an out-of-state law firm that would represent him in legal situations. Instead, Stitt chose to hire local legal firms to defend his ideas against the compacts.
According to the words of senior counsel for the Chickasaw Nation, Stephen Greetham, the governor, didn’t ask to cancel the proceedings. Greetham said:
“We are reviewing the pleading his lawyers filed on his behalf and look forward to learning what legal basis he will claim to justify the uncertainty he has endeavored to create.”
Present Deal
Oklahoma citizens approved the current deal in 2004. Under the same agreement, tribes contribute to the state with 4-10% exclusivity fees on gambling revenue. At the same time, tribes are entitled to operate casinos in exchange for the previous rates. Only from this source, the state has collected about $139 million in 2018 and transferred it to educational purposes. However, Stitt wants to burden compacts with additional obligation and he has a very good plan for doing so. It is still to be seen what will happen in the following weeks…
Source:
“Oklahoma governor seeks to prevent tribal casinos from offering Class III gaming“, yogonet.com, January 24, 2020.
This is one of the examples that the state wants to profit from the gambling industry. Oklahoma governor is striving to get better conditions and tribes are obviously against. As previous compacts expired, the new deal is close to finalization and I can’t wait to see the solution…