According to the FY 2022 annual report of the Oklahoma Gaming Compliance Unit ( OGCU ), “ the State of Oklahoma collected over $ 191.5 million in tribal gaming exclusivity in fiscal year 2022 … based on over $ 3.19 billion in Class III electronic games and non-house-banked card games .”
This represents an increase over the previous year of 18 percent , outpacing the commercial market growth rate of 14 percent . The NIGC report represents total gross gaming revenue ( GGR ), while the OGCU only identifies the revenues on which exclusivity fees are paid — Class III revenue . Therefore , the difference between the NIGC figure and the OGCU figure is the Class II revenue generated by the state .
Oklahoma is a unique gaming market with regards to the significant amount of Class II gaming machines compared to Class III . Historically , Class II machines have been utilized to backfill markets that have surpassed their allotment of Class III machines , or to offer a different style of machine to the gaming patron . In Oklahoma , tribes have used Class II machines to help reduce exclusivity fees paid to the state while maintaining a quality gaming product , a model that has not been as successful in other gaming markets around the country .
Like the rest of the country , Covid-19 impacted the Oklahoma gaming market to the tune of 16 percent . While not the largest impact seen across U . S . gaming markets , it was significant enough to create job loss and decrease critical funding for non-gaming businesses as well as services offered to tribal members . Larger Oklahoma tribes like the Cherokee , Choctaw and Chickasaw Nations have been at the forefront of recovery and growth , and continue to invest heavily in their casino operations , build new facilities and expand existing ones .
These tribes have been successful in attracting new customers , increasing their market share and growing their revenue . The strong recovery in FY 2021 ( 32 percent ) and FY 2022 ( 18 percent ) indicates a resilient market and a trend that the Oklahoma market should continue to see moving forward .
The Compact Chronicle
Following the 1987 U . S . Supreme Court ruling in California v . Cabazon Band of Mission Indians and the 1988 Indian Gaming Regulatory Act passed by Congress , a framework for regulating tribal gaming activities was installed in the form of a compact .
Compacts are government-to-government working agreements on issues of mutual interest . This could cover any topic from services , land use and taxes to the use of natural resources or , in this instance , gaming . A gaming compact is a legal agreement between a Native American tribe and a state government that allows the tribe to operate certain types of gambling activities on their tribal lands in the state . Tribal gaming compacts are required by federal law for Class III gaming , which includes slot machines , casino-style games , and certain types of parimutuel betting .
The first compact in Oklahoma was signed in 1992 with a more substantial statewide compact being enacted in 2004 by state legislature and voter approval . This included significant expansion of the types of Class III games being offered as well as an agreement from the tribes to pay a Class III exclusivity fee in exchange for the prohibition of non-tribal gaming in the state . That compact expired in 2019 , but was extended for another 15 years following a ruling by the Oklahoma Supreme Court .
Shortly following , the state and Governor Kevin Stitt negotiated new compacts with four tribes in a multifaceted effort to : 1 ) increase tax revenue to the state , which is used to support education ; 2 ) bring Oklahoma more in line with what other states receive in exclusivity fees ; and 3 ) allow some of the state ’ s smaller tribes to benefit from new and more lucrative casino locations .
Signed in the months after the majority of tribes in Oklahoma believed the Model Gaming Compact had automatically renewed , these compacts with the Otoe-Missouria Tribe , Comanche Nation , United Keetoowah Band of Cherokee Indians and Kialegee Tribal Town were controversial from the beginning , and by 2021 the Oklahoma Supreme Court had ruled them illegal . With that decision , Oklahoma tribes have reverted back to the original compact that was extended for an additional 15 years , now set to expire December 31 , 2034 .
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