Oklahoma news media report that Governor Kevin Stitt is using funds generated by tribal gaming fees to pay the law firm that will defend him in a lawsuit brought by three gaming tribes.
Stitt has hired Seattle-based Perkins Coie to represent him in the legal tussle over tribal gaming compacts. He insists the compacts expired on January 1 and must be renegotiated, and says Class III gaming is forbidden without a new agreement. He’s seeking higher fees from the tribes for gaming exclusivity, Tulsa World reported. The tribes beg to differ, and the Choctaw, Cherokee and Chickasaw Nation have filed a federal lawsuit in order to settle the matter.
Meanwhile, though the state’s tribal casinos remain open, Stitt has declared they are operating illegally.
The tribes have said they’re willing to discuss higher rates if Stitt acknowledges that they’re right and also offers “something of value” in return, according to the Tulsa World report. Currently, they pay between 4 percent and 10 percent in exchange for the exclusive rights to operate Class III games like slot machines, roulette and craps. The exclusivity fees generated nearly $150,000 million for the state during the last fiscal year.
In addition, each gaming tribe pays an annual assessment of $35,000 to cover the state’s “costs incurred in connection with the oversight of covered games.” Tribes also pay a one-time $50,000 startup assessment “to assist the state in initiating its administrative and oversight responsibilities,” according to the compact.
The law firm is being paid from an account funded by these revenues, and as much as $300,000 could be drawn from that pot, said Stitt spokeswoman Donelle Harder.
Stephen Greetham, senior counsel for the Chickasaw Nation, said using the funds to defend the suit seems “well outside any purpose authorized by that very same compact.”
