And then there were four.
On Tuesday, gaming compacts for the United Keetoowah Band of Cherokee Indians and Kialegee Tribal Town were published in the Federal Register, thus allowing them to formally take effect.
The pair of agreements were signed on July 1 and deemed approved by the Department of Interior in August. However, as was the case with the compacts signed by the Comanche Nation and Otoe-Missouria Tribe, they could not take effect until they were published.
Litigation is still pending before the Oklahoma Supreme Court over whether the two compacts are valid and binding.
The United Keetoowah Band of Cherokee Indians and the Kialegee Tribal Town each signed 15-year agreements that would allow each tribe to open up a single property outside its jurisdictional area.
The UKB has not operated any gaming properties since its Tahlequah casino closed in 2013. As written, its compact is limited to a single facility in Logan County and does not allow for any Class III gaming at the shuttered Keetoowah Cherokee Casino property.
Headquartered in Wetumka, the Kialegee Tribal Town’s compact is specifically for a single property in Oklahoma County east of Choctaw Road. The tribe previously tried to open a casino in Broken Arrow but was denied a gaming license by the National Indian Gaming Commission.
Section 20 of the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act includes provisions for tribes to take land into trust outside of their jurisdictional area if certain conditions are met, including approval from state officials.
For the Kialegees, that state approval is contingent upon signing an agreement with another tribe by June 30, 2021, to jointly manage the casino. Additionally, the tribe has to submit its application to the federal government for consideration under IGRA by June 30, 2023.
Citing concerns about the potential financial impact on Remington Park and the state’s horse racing industry, the Oklahoma Quarter Horse Racing Association and the Thoroughbred Racing Association of Oklahoma have lodged a joint complaint with both Gov. Kevin Stitt and the Department of Interior about the possible Kialegee casino.
Should the compact survive its pending legal challenges and Kialegee Tribal Town finds a partner tribe, the horse racing groups would have the opportunity to formally challenge the land into trust application.
“We strongly oppose the Kialegee compact and the two-part determination concurrence contained therein and will fight against it,” the associations said in a joint letter.
The UKB must submit its land into trust application to the federal government by July 1, 2024, in order for the state to stay on board with the proposed Logan County property.
The UKB compact sets an exclusivity fee sliding scale on revenue from Class III machines, ranging from 12 to 15 percent.
For Kialegees, the exclusivity fee is set at 12 percent for the first two years their casino is open, then the sliding scale is implemented for the rest of the compact’s duration.
Additionally, both tribes would pay an 18 percent exclusivity fee on revenue generated from the non-house banked table and card games, such as roulette, craps, poker, and blackjack.
By comparison, the exclusivity fees in the model state-tribal gaming compact signed in 2004 max out at 10 percent.