Summary
This Oklahoma Attorney General Opinion addresses whether the United Keetoowah Band of Cherokee Indians' execution of the state's model tribal gaming compact on April 29, 2025, created a valid agreement with Oklahoma. The opinion concludes that the compact's initial term expired on January 1, 2020, and its automatic renewal provisions do not apply to tribes without a compact in effect at that time. Consequently, the UKB's attempt to enter the compact was invalid, and any new compact would require approval from the Joint Committee on State-Tribal Relations.
Topics
Practice areas
Questions Presented
- Whether the April 29, 2025 execution of Oklahoma's model gaming compact by the United Keetoowah Band creates a valid agreement between the State of Oklahoma and the UKB.
- Whether the expiration of the model compact’s initial term on January 1, 2020, limits the UKB’s ability to enter into a valid compact.
Holdings
- The execution does not create a valid agreement because the State’s offer expired on January 1, 2020 and the UKB did not obtain the required Joint Committee approval.
Key quotations
“The April 29, 2025, execution of Oklahoma's statutory model gaming compact by the United Keetoowah Band of Cherokee Indians in Oklahoma did not create a valid agreement between the State of Oklahoma and the UKB.”
Factual background
The United Keetoowah Band of Cherokee Indians (UKB) signed and submitted Oklahoma's model tribal gaming compact on April 29, 2025. The model compact’s statutory term expired on January 1, 2020, and the UKB had no compact in effect at that time. The Joint Committee on State‑Tribal Relations had not approved the 2025 compact.