Oklahoma tribes worried about Class II rules

Friday, February 22, 2008

Oklahoma tribes continued to discuss the impact of proposed National Indian Gaming Commission regulations.

The rules would tighten the definition of Class II games like bingo. Some machines would end up being classified as Class III machines.

That means the tribes would have to share revenues with the state under their Class III gaming compact. For the Cherokee Nation, about $75 million in Class II revenues are affected.

"It's one thing to make regulations, but the practical enforcement of them on these operations are in terms of real impact," Jamie Hummingbird, the tribe's director of gaming said at an American Indian Chamber of Commerce meeting, The Tulsa World reported. "Gaming monies don't go into per-capita payments for individual members, but back into the communities."

Barbara Collier, a gaming official for the Quapaw Tribe, said Class II machines give tribes leverage in negotiating Class III compacts. If tribes are forced to move entirely to Class III, they wouldn't have any bargaining power, she said.

The rules were discussed at a field hearing in Miami, Oklahoma, on Wednesday.

Get the Story:
Plans for gambling regulation changes alarm tribes (The Tulsa World 2/22)
Reps lend ear to gaming issue (The Miami News-Record 2/22)