The Joint Committee on State Tribal Relations rejected Gov. Kevin Stitt’s request Wednesday to greenlight two gaming compacts with tribal nations over concerns the deals could lead to more casinos in Oklahoma County.
There was also debate over whether the committee had the power to approve the deals at all.
Stitt struck the agreements with the United Keetoowah Band and the Kialegee Tribal Town in 2020, after his attempts to rework the central state-tribal gaming agreement went nowhere.
The governor’s general counsel, Trevor Pemberton, told the 10 lawmakers on the committee the deals would benefit the state, because Oklahoma would be in line to receive a larger share of proceeds on more types of gaming than those covered by the model compact.
