OKLAHOMA CITY – Gov. Kevin Stitt asked the state agency that regulates wagering at the three Oklahoma racetracks to take action that could arguably stop the renewal of all tribal gaming compacts years down the road.
Stitt asked the nine-member Oklahoma Horse Racing Commission to pass a resolution saying it would not allow tracks to offer gaming machines or share in the participating tribal fund revenue starting Jan. 1, 2035, unless authorized by the governor.
The panel on Thursday took no action on the item. It has referred it to the Oklahoma Attorney General’s Office.
Stitt has appointed all nine members.
Stitt lost a high profile feud with tribes over the renewal of gaming compacts.
Stitt said in 2019 that the gaming compacts needed to be renegotiated and sought higher fees. He said the compacts did not automatically renew.
Tribes disagreed and sued Stitt in federal court.
A federal judge in July 2020 ruled that because the Oklahoma Horse Racing Commission on Oct. 17, 2019, approved the final horse track gaming licenses, the compacts automatically renewed.
“In 2019, the commission followed the law exactly as it is written, to the letter,” Oklahoma Horse Racing Commission Chair Keith Sanders said Thursday.
He said the commission issued gaming licenses to three tracks — Remington Park, Will Rogers Downs and Fair Meadows Tulsa — and in doing so renewed all tribal gaming compacts.
“We knew exactly what we were doing and did the right thing,” he said. “The governor wants to change that.”
Abegail Cave, a Stitt spokesperson, said the resolution is non-binding and has no impact until 2034.
Cave said the resolution is not an attempt to disrupt gaming or the compacts, but an effort to ensure the future governor has a chance to negotiate percentages.
Sanders said the Governor’s Office on Feb. 20 called him and two other commissioners to his office where they met with two of Stitt’s attorneys.
They were given a resolution to consider, he said.
The resolution said that issuing organizational licenses could result in automatic renewal of the gaming compacts, “thereby leaving the State without the ability to meaningfully negotiate terms, as permitted under the model gaming compact.”
The resolution said the Oklahoma Horse Racing Commission intends to take all steps necessary to ensure the compacts, which expire Jan. 1, 2035, don’t automatically renew.
Sanders said the resolution is currently not the law.
“Having questions about what we should do with this request, we referred this to the Oklahoma Attorney General’s Office for advice and counsel,” Sanders said. “There will be no more action on that. It will be held in abeyance until we get a response on that.”
Stitt is serving his second and final term as governor.
Joe Lucas served 12 years on the commission, leaving on June 30, 2023.
“They don’t have the authority,” Lucas said. “It wouldn’t hold up in court. I am sure someone would file an injunction to stop the resolution’s effectiveness immediately.”
The Oklahoma Indian Gaming Association and the Attorney General’s Office did not respond to a request for comment.
Tribes pay the state between 4% and 10% for the exclusive right to operate Class III gaming. Class III gaming includes slot machines.
In 2023, gaming fees brought in $202 million to the state, a 5.6% hike over the prior year, according to the Oklahoma Gaming Compliance Unit Annual Report.
That same year, total tribal revenue from Class III games and table games was slightly more than $3.3 billion, according to the report.
