Another tribe wins approval for ball and dice games in Oklahoma

Monday, September 17, 2018  

Another tribe has won federal approval to offer ball and dice games in Oklahoma.

This time it's the Comanche Nation. Approval of the tribe's amended Class III gaming compact is being published in the Federal Register on Tuesday.

"The compact amendments authorize the tribes to engage in certain additional class III gaming activities, provide for the application of existing revenue sharing agreements to the additional forms of class III gaming, and designate how the State will distribute revenue sharing funds," the document reads.

The tribe joins 13 others whose compacts were previously approved by the Bureau of Indian Affairs. The first agreements went into effect on August 17 and craps and roulette games went live at a number of casinos that weekend.

The new games were approved at the state level in April on the expectation that they will generate more revenues. The expansion was key issue as public school teachers staged a walkout to demand more funding for schools, pay and benefits.

State lawmakers who pushed for the change anticipate an additional $22 million next year. That's on top of the revenues that tribes already share as part of their federally-approved Class III gaming compacts.

According to the Oklahoma Gaming Compliance Unit's latest report, tribes shared $113.9 million in fiscal year 2017. That was an increase of 1.44 percent from the prior year.

Since 2004, when voters approved Class III gaming, tribes have shared more than $1.25 billion with the state.

The Comanche Nation offers gaming at five locations in Oklahoma.

Indian Gaming; Approval of Tribal-State Class III Gaming Compact Amendments in the State of Oklahoma (To Be Published September 18, 2018)

Chickasaw Nation inadvertently left off gaming compact notice (September 11, 2018)
Choctaw Nation and Cherokee Nation offer first ball and dice games (August 21, 2018)
Tribes secure approval to offer ball and dice games in Oklahoma (August 17, 2018)
Tribes wait for approval to offer new games at casinos in Oklahoma (August 6, 2018)
Cherokee Nation welcomes expansion of gaming with ball and dice games (May 10, 2018)
Bill authorizes ball and dice games at tribal casinos in Oklahoma (March 15, 2018)