In Oklahoma, Kiowa Tribal Chairman Matthew M. Komalty added his voice to protest Governor Kevin Stitt’s proposal to raise tribal exclusivity rates from 4 percent – 6 percent to 20 percent – 25 percent when the gaming compacts expire. Stitt’s office believes they terminate in January 2020, ending Class III gaming if they’re not renegotiated. But the 31 tribes that signed compacts claim they automatically renew with no changes.
Stitt said the original tax rate was fair when it was negotiated in 2004 and the gaming industry was new. Now, he said, he wants to take another look at it. The leaders of Inter-tribal Council of the Five Civilized Tribes signed a resolution rejecting Stitt’s call to renegotiate the rate. They are Muscogee (Creek) Chief James Floyd, Cherokee Principal Chief Bill John Baker, Choctaw Chief Greg Batton, Chickasaw Gov. Bill Anoatubby and Seminole Chief Greg Chilcoat.
More recently, Komalty said his tribe had spent millions on gaming operations and only recently has been able to provide much-needed services to its citizens. He said the tribe took all the risk in building and operating casinos while the state reaped the benefits. “The Oklahoma legislature has by legislation cost the state billions of dollars in revenue by reducing taxes on the wealthy and the oil companies that do business in the state. Rest assured that your tribal government will not allow the state to use the Kiowa Tribe to make up for the tax losses and carry the load for the state because of the state legislature’s actions.”
Since 2004, the state has received slightly more than $1.5 billion in tribal casino revenue, which mostly is directed to education. In 2017, Oklahoma received nearly $134 million in tribal gaming exclusivity fees, a 1.44 percent increase from the prior year, based on more than $2.2 billion in revenue from Class III electronic games and non-house-banked card games.
The compacts currently do not cover sports betting or online betting. Last year lawmakers approved ball-and-dice games, like roulette.
Oklahoma has 38 federally recognized tribes, of which 31 have signed the gaming compact. They operate 134 casinos—second only to Nevada–ranging from an annex in a gas station to luxurious casino resorts, including the largest single casino in the U.S.
