Oklahoma backs Cheyenne-Arapaho Tribes in compact case

Tuesday, February 4, 2014  

The state of Oklahoma is supporting the Cheyenne and Arapaho Tribes in a dispute over a Class III gaming compact that authorizes Internet wagering.

The tribe sued the Bureau of Indian Affairs for rejecting the compact. The state isn't a part of the lawsuit but Gov. Mary Fallin (R) is defending the agreement.

"In the governor's view, the state Tribal Gaming Act of 2004 prescribing the terms of the Class III gaming compact between the tribes and the state fully authorizes the amended settlement and igaming directed an the international market," Fallin's lead counsel said in a December 9, 2013 letter to the tribe.

Assistant Secretary Kevin Washburn, the head of the BIA, rejected the agreement last November, calling it "illusory." He said the state failed to offer "meaningful concessions" to the tribe in exchange for a cut of the online revenues.

Fallin, however, believes the agreement remains in effect in Oklahoma and allows the tribe and other financial institutions within the tribe's jurisdictional area to process "international transactions."

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Cheyenne-Arapaho Tribes sue BIA over Class III gaming deal (01/02)