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Posted: Dec 18, 2019 3:07 PMUpdated: Dec 18, 2019 3:07 PM

Gov. Calls on Tribes to Sign Extension to Continue Gaming Negotiations

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Tom Davis / AP

Gov. Kevin Stitt called on tribal leaders Tuesday to sign an extension to their existing gaming compacts to provide certainty that business will “continue as usual” as the sides work to resolve their dispute.

Stitt and the tribes are at a stalemate on whether the gaming compacts expire Jan. 1, as the governor believes, or renew automatically, as the tribes believe. Stitt wants the tribes to pay more to the state for the exclusive right to have casinos in the state.

 “As of Jan. 1, Class III gaming will be illegal (without an extension of the compacts). … This will create tremendous uncertainty,” Stitt said.

The tribes say they plan to continue normal operations on Jan. 1.

“We don’t need an extension to operate after Jan. 1,” said Matthew Morgan, chairman of the Oklahoma Indian Gaming Association.

The tribes pay the state between 4% and 10% of their adjusted gross revenues for the exclusive right to operate Class III gaming, which includes slot machines, roulette and craps. Last year, those fees brought in nearly $150 million for the state.

Earlier Tuesday, Oklahoma Attorney General Mike Hunter notified Stitt that he is withdrawing from compact negotiations, leaving the governor to deal directly with the tribes.

Stitt said that as the holidays approach, he wants banks, alcohol and food vendors, entertainers and casino workers to have certainty that they can continue to operate.

He said the specific details of the state’s offer to extend the compacts are still being worked out.

“The state will make a generous offer with this extension and not ask for anything in return,” the governor said.

The temporary extension, he said, will “give us plenty of time to sit down and continue these negotiations.”

Morgan called Stitt’s remarks disappointing, adding that it was the governor who was injecting uncertainty into the situation.

“I had hoped to see better leadership from him on this issue,” Morgan said.

He said Stitt had not reached out to tribal leadership to talk about an extension and that tribal leaders have not seen a document offering the extension. He added that it would be hard to comment on something that they have not seen.

 


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