Years ago, while he was serving in the military, Jon Peters heard a drill sergeant say there were three types of Marines: ‘One who makes things happen, one who waits for things to happen, and one who says ‘what happened?’”
“We need to be the right kind of Marine,” said Peters, now the chief operating officer of the Kiowa Casino and Hotel.
In other words, Oklahoma tribes need to drive changes in the state’s gaming industry and not simply wait to react to changes, Peters said this week at the Oklahoma Indian Gaming Association Conference and Trade Show.
One especially big change will involve the legalization of sports betting in the state, according to several participants at the conference, which ended Thursday at the Cox Business Convention Center in downtown Tulsa.
“It’s not ‘if’ but ‘when’ this change comes,” said Kelly Carpino, CEO of the Wyandotte Tribe of Oklahoma.
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More than half the states have legalized sports betting since a 2018 U.S. Supreme Court decision struck down a federal ban, speakers said. And Americans have since legally bet more than $143 billion on sporting events.
Bringing it to Oklahoma would generate revenue not only for tribes but for the state government, said Janie Dillard, senior executive director of commerce for the Choctaw Nation.
“We should be the ones driving it,” Dillard agreed during a panel discussion on the “state of gaming” in Oklahoma. “Sports betting is the next big prize.”
Legalizing it in Oklahoma would likely include technological changes for tribal gaming, with bets made online instead of at brick-and-mortar casinos, speakers said. And it would probably require amendments to the state’s gaming compact, which gives tribes exclusive rights to offer gaming while the state receives a percentage of revenue, speakers said. The current compacts do not include sports betting.
Renegotiating the compacts, however, will come with risks, said Bill Lance, the secretary of state for the Chickasaw Nation.
“It can’t be a dramatic, all-out change,” Lance said, noting that the tribes had successfully fought Gov. Kevin Stitt’s effort to force them to negotiate an entirely new compact.
“Anything that we do, going forward, we must protect the integrity of the current state compact,” Lance said.
Native American tribes contributed $15.6 billion to the Oklahoma economy in 2019, the most recent year with available data, making them a “top 10 industry in the state,” said Victor Flores, president of the Oklahoma Tribal Finance Consortium.
The tribes created more than 113,000 jobs, with the majority held by nontribal citizens, worth more than $5.4 billion in wages and benefits, Flores said.
“Tribes are an economic driver as well as a constant and reliable partner,” Flores said. “Unlike corporations that move based on economic conditions, our tribes are here to stay.”
While bullish on the continued growth of gaming in Oklahoma, experts at the conference urged tribes to diversity with investments in other industries.
As one speaker noted, Oklahoma tribes had to expand beyond bingo into casino gaming to generate enough revenue for health care, housing and other needs. Likewise, tribes will need to expand beyond gaming to keep up with future needs, Dillard said.
“Gaming has set our foundation. It’s built us. It’s made us what we are today,” she said. “But we’ve got to start looking outside of the gaming box at other opportunities. Diversification is very important to all of us.”
The simplest answer: maybe. But it's a complicated issue.
Tribal gaming 101: What you need to know about Oklahoma tribal gaming
What is the dispute?
In an opinion piece, Stitt said “most” tribal compacts nationwide include gaming exclusivity fees that pay states 20% to 25%, compared to the 4% to 6% that Oklahoma gets from its compacts which were agreed upon more than a decade ago.
What is a compact?
A state lacks jurisdiction over tribes. A compact is essentially an agreement between the state and a tribe where the state offers the tribe substantial exclusivity in certain areas in exchange for payments.
A compact can cover tobacco sales, fuel, gaming and other enterprises. Various entities enforce it. Penalties include a reduction in payments and liquidated damages.
How much does the state receive from tribal gaming compacts?
Since 2004, the state has received slightly more than $1.5 billion, most of which goes to education.
How much did the state receive in 2019?
Oklahoma received a little more than $148 million in tribal gaming exclusivity fees, up almost $10 million from the year before.
Related: A breakdown of the nearly $139 million that Oklahoma collected from state tribes in fiscal year 2018
What types of games are covered by the compact?
The compact covers Class III gaming, which includes slot machines, roulette and craps. The compacts do not cover Class II gaming, which includes electronic bingo. IAN MAULE/Tulsa World file
Can the compacts be expanded for other types of gaming?
Yes. The compacts currently do not cover sports betting and other forms of gambling, such as online betting. Ball-and-dice games were recently approved by lawmakers as a means to raise additional revenue.
How many tribes are involved in the gaming compacts?
Oklahoma has 38 federally-recognized tribes, of which 31 have signed gaming compacts.
How many tribal compact gaming operations exist?
The state has 130 tribal gaming operations that range in size from an annex to a gas station to resort casinos.
How do tribes use the money generated from gaming?
Tribes use the money to fund government operations and programs, the welfare of the tribe and its members, economic development, charity and local government agencies.
