Stitt claims tribal casinos will operate illegally without new compact

BY D. SEAN ROWLEY

Senior Reporter

Gov. Kevin Stitt says the “truth is on our side” in Oklahoma’s apparent impasse with tribal governments over revenue percentages paid for exclusive gaming rights. Stitt says that tribes will be operating illegally on Jan. 1 if gaming compacts are not renegotiated. Tribal leaders say the compacts automatically renew. SUE OGROCKI/ASSOCIATED PRESS

About the Author

D. SEAN ROWLEY

david-rowley@cherokee.org  918-453-5560 Sean Rowley was hired by the Cherokee Phoenix at the beginning of 2019. Sean was born a long time ago in Tulsa, where he grew up and attended Booker T. Washington High School as a freshman before moving to Pawnee County and graduating from Cleveland High School in 1987. He graduated sans honors from Northeastern State University in 1992 with a bachelor of arts in mass communication with emphases in advertising and public relati ...

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OKLAHOMA CITY – Indicating that the state and American Indian tribes may be headed for an impasse, Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt on Dec. 5 attempted to apply a deadline to renegotiate the tribal gaming compacts.Stitt suggested that the tribes could not operate after Dec. 31 with an expired contract, and said in his statement: “Are they going to be operating illegally Class III (non-electronic bingo) games? That brings a whole host of issues with vendors.”Under the active compact, tribes in Oklahoma receive exclusive rights to casino gaming in the state in return for giving the state a cut of the revenue; generally ranging from 4% to 10%. Stitt has suggested the tribes pay rates as high as 25 percent, pointing to other states where tribes pay a higher percentage for gaming rights.Tribes in the state have countered that revenue, competition, personal income and state population are assessed by other states when determining what tribes should pay under compacts.“The governor is wrong,” Principal Chief Chuck Hoskin Jr. said. “He doesn’t have to take my word for it. He can take the word of outside observers such as (former) Gov. Brad Henry, who negotiated the compact.”Hoskin said the governor “is on an island,” insisting that the compacts are about to expire and must be renegotiated, but having no legal precedent on which to stand.“It is not helpful, productive or good-faith bargaining, which the tribes have always been willing to do,” Hoskin said. “We are not going to bargain a compact with a phony deadline above our heads. It is important for the Cherokee people to understand that Jan. 1 will look the same as Dec. 31. We will continue to lead the state in gaming, and we will continue to wait for the governor to back off on an expiration date and get back to really discussing the compact.”Observers around the state are not certain what Oklahoma would do to enforce any closure of the casinos without violating tribal law and sovereignty. However, the state could file lawsuits.“We’ll be prepared if the state tries to take legal action,” Hoskin said. “Our strategy is that we have been transparent from the beginning with the governor and the people of Oklahoma. The compact renews, and we are willing to discuss what can be renegotiated under its terms, and that includes rates. But we will not indulge the governor on a phony deadline. It is disrespectful to the tribes.”Other tribes have also indicated they will not discuss changing the rates unless Stitt acknowledges there is no deadline – that the compacts automatically renew Jan. 1.Though he is pressing hard to renegotiate, Stitt said he hoped to avoid legal action, but did not offer any ideas about what the tribes might receive in return for paying higher rates to the state.“I am trying to be a good-faith partner and not negotiate in public...” he said. “The truth is on our side. I feel so confident that Oklahomans can see right through a certain industry, the casino industry, saying, ‘These go on forever.’ That can’t be true.”Gov. Bill Anoatubby of the Chickasaw Nation, which is the largest gaming tribe in Oklahoma, recently informed the Department of the Interior that any attempt to suspend Chickasaw gaming operations would be an “intolerable risk” to the tribal government and its citizens.Matthew Morgan, Oklahoma Indian Gaming Association chairman and executive officer for policy development and gaming for the Chickasaw Nation, said state relations with tribal governments could endure long-term negative effects if both sides fight it out in the court system. He added that even an agreement before Jan. 1 would require the approval of the U.S. Interior and legislative endorsements.