Oklahoma’s Governor Kevin Stitt said that the local Native American tribes would be operating some of their gambling games illegally after the beginning of 2020 in case the ongoing dispute over their compacts are not resolved.
The existing compacts of the tribes are set to expire at the end of 2019 but the tribes do not agree and claim the compacts should be automatically renewed under the current terms. The state officials, however, do not think so. In that case, if the contracts between the tribes and the state are not re-negotiated and renewed, Governor Stitt says that Tribal Nations would offer their Class III games illegally, as they would not have a contract that allows them to offer such services.
This, on the other hand, would bring many new issues with vendors across the state.
The disputes regarding the tribal gambling compacts have been going on for a few months. As mentioned above, the tribes claim that the contracts with the state that provide them with the chance to offer Class III games in Oklahoma are set to automatically renew for another 15-year period on January 1st, 2020.
The Governor of the state, however, still believes that these compacts are to expire at the end of 2019 and is willing to renegotiate the amount of money that has to be paid by the tribes in return to the exclusive right to operate casinos in Oklahoma.
Oklahoma Officials Aim at Boosting Gambling Tax Rates to 25%
For the time being, between 4% and 10% of the overall gambling revenue generated by the tribes is collected by the state. Governor Stitt has revealed that the talks regarding new gambling tax rates are set to start at 25%, which is the highest rate paid by tribes in nearby states.
As the Native American tribes claim their compacts are set to automatically renew, they remain unwilling to enter negotiation talks unless their exclusive rights to offer are acknowledged. Also, they do not have any plans of ceasing operation of their Class III games on January 1st, 2020, as according to them, the Governor’s position is backed neither by law nor by logic.
For the time being, the Governor and the tribes remain at an impasse on gaming compacts. Under the state’s gambling legislation, Class III gaming includes some table games such as craps and roulette, as well as slot machines. Currently, many casinos of Native American tribes also offer Class II games but they do not owe any exclusivity fees for them.
As revealed by the Office of Management and Enterprise Services, the exclusivity fees paid by the Oklahoma Indian tribes to the state over the fiscal 2019 are worth $148 million. If the two parties reach a compromise and the tax rate is boosted, the funding received by the state would rise several times.
