In Oklahoma, Native American tribes with casinos said they will not enter into arbitration over renewing their 15-year gaming compacts.
That position was declared as nearly 200 tribal leaders representing 31 tribes recently met with state Attorney General Mike Hunter plus members of Governor Kevin Stitt’s staff. Stitt has stated the compacts will expire January 1, 2020; the tribes believe the agreements will renew automatically.
Following the meeting, tribal leaders wrote in a letter to Hunter, “The state’s argument against renewal is not supported by any facts or law and arbitration is not presently justified. If the state intends to make a proposed revision to our agreement, we will insist that it justify any proposal with reference to a meaningful state concession of proportionate value.” The letter noted the tribes stand firm on their position and meanwhile will continue operations as usual.
In response, Stitt’s Communications Director Baylee Lakey said, “The governor is disappointed the tribes declined the state’s proposal for arbitration in order to resolve our legal differences and that they did not present an alternative resolution towards progress. The governor will be providing a full update in the coming days about the current state of negotiations.”
Stitt wants to renegotiate the compacts so the state will receive more income from casino revenue sharing in exchange for tribes’ exclusivity to offer casino gambling. Currently tribes pay the state 4-10 percent of net annual casino revenue.
For fiscal year 2018, Oklahoma collected nearly $139 million in tribal gaming exclusivity fees—an increase of 3.48 percent over fiscal 2017, according to the Oklahoma Office of Management and Enterprise Services.
