Indian Gaming > Okla. governor signs gaming compact into law

March 10, 2004

Okla. governor signs gaming compact into law

Oklahoma Gov. Brad Henry (D) signed a revenue-sharing tribal gaming compact into law on Tuesday.

SB553 legalizes certain casino machines for tribes and three racetracks. The tribes and the tracks will share a portion of their revenues from the machines with the state. The yearly amount is estimated at anywhere from $71 million to $130 million.

A "trailer" bill is to be subsisted for the version that cleared the State House and Senate. The version circulated among tribal leaders yesterday can be found at http://www.indianz.com/docs/floor/sb553trailer.pdf.

The compact needs to be approved by the Bureau of Indian Affairs before becoming law. The BIA has 45 days to review it once submitted. The compact ties enforcement of revenue-sharing tobacco compacts to the gaming machines. This and any other provisions deemed incompatible with federal gaming law can be stricken without damaging the entire compact.

Get the Story:
Henry signs racetrack gaming bill (The Daily Oklahoman 3/10)
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