OKLAHOMA CITY — For the second consecutive week, Gov. Kevin Stitt lost a law- suit over Oklahoma’s gaming compacts.
Citing the actions of the Oklahoma Horse Racing Commission, U.S. District Judge Timothy DeGuisti ruled Tuesday morning that the model tribal gaming compact used by more than 30 Oklahoma tribes automatically renewed on Jan. 1.
“There is no question that STGA [state-tribal gaming compact] delegated to OHRC, an executive agency, the power to implement its provisions and to authorize organizational licensees (horse racetracks) to conduct electronic gaming if they meet statutory and regulatory requirements,” DeGuisti wrote.
“There is also no question that OHRC took these governmental actions following the effective dates of the compacts. Indeed, OHRC issued such licenses to two horse racetracks in October 2019 for the year 2020. No more was required for the compacts to automatically renew on Jan. 1, 2020, for a successive 15-year term.”
Seeking higher exclusivity fees from the 30-plus gaming tribes across Oklahoma, Gov. Stitt had publicly maintained that the compacts expired on New Year’s Eve and that any
Class III gaming conducted after that date, such as craps and roulette, was illegal. Under the model compact, the exclusivity fees for Oklahoma’s 131 tribally operated casinos range from 4 to 10 percent, generating a roughly $1.5 billion payout to the state over the last 15 years.
The Cherokee, Chickasaw and Choctaw nations originally filed suit on New Year’s Eve against Gov. Kevin Stitt in the Western District of Oklahoma, asking for a declaratory judgment that the state-tribal model gaming compact automatically renewed on New Year’s Day. Soon after, they were joined by the Muscogee (Creek), Quapaw, Delaware, Citizen Potawatomi and Seminole nations, plus the Wichita and Affiliated Tribes.
William Norman is the attorney for the Anadarko-based Wichita and Affiliated Tribes. His client still has an additional outstanding complaint against the governor, claiming that the state violated the compacts’ exclusivity provisions by authorizing the Oklahoma lottery and 2015 amendments to the Iowa Tribe of Oklahoma’s compact that allow for online gambling.
Norman welcomed the ruling Tuesday morning and said the Wichita and Affiliated Tribes would be evaluating their additional claim in light of DeGuisti’s decision. Written notices regarding that claim and any other remaining loose ends are due by Aug. 7.
“We would hope that this would be an opportunity for the governor to reflect on the good relationship that state and tribes have had over the compact’s 15-year period and that we can continue to work together collaboratively in the future,” Norman said. “That’s what Oklahoma needs right now.”
The call to move forward was echoed by Chuck Hoskin Jr., the principal chief of the Cherokee Nation.
“The Cherokee Nation is pleased with today’s ruling which affirms what our tribal nations have known from the beginning, that our gaming compacts with the state of Oklahoma renewed on Jan. 1 for another 15 years. Tribal gaming in this state will continue to be strong, not only for tribes, but for all of Oklahoma, contributing vital education dollars into our public schools and bolstering health care, road programs and communities,” he said. “Everything in our compact now remains the same, and we hope we can move forward and build a relationship built on respect with Gov. Stitt in the future.”
On Tuesday afternoon, the governor’s office released a statement thanking Judge DeGuisti for sending the issue to mediation first, but still expressing disappointment in the ruling.
“It confirms my fears, and the fears of many fellow Oklahomans, that the state entered into a poorly negotiated deal and now we must bear the cost of this mistake,” Stitt said. “The federal court determined that the 2004 gaming compact autorenewed for 15 years because of an action taken by an agency’s unelected board to reissue licenses for gaming at horse racing tracks. This decision, coupled with the recent U.S. Supreme Court ruling on McGirt, means Oklahomans have important questions to face regarding our future.
“Among other things, we will need to explore the challenges of who will pay taxes and who won’t, of how we will guarantee a competitive marketplace, and of how the state will fund core public services into the next generation.
“In short, we face a question of constitutional proportions about what it means to be the state of Oklahoma and how we regulate and oversee all business in our state.”
The statement did not address whether the governor will appeal the decision and a spokesman was unable to answer the question. According to records obtained by the Tulsa World, the governor has spent $1.5 million to challenge the compacts in court.
One week ago, the Oklahoma state Supreme Court ruled 7-1 that the compacts signed by Gov. Stitt, the Otoe-Missouria Tribe and the Comanche Nation violated the separation of powers provisions of the state constitution and were invalid. A related lawsuit is still pending regarding similar compacts signed by the United Keetoowah Band of Cherokee Indians and the Kialegee Tribal Town.