"The 30,044 Class II machines in Oklahoma at the end of 2006 represented 59 percent of all such machines in the country"
OKLAHOMA CITY -- A proposed new federal restriction on the types of slot machines tribes can offer at casinos could cost Oklahoma tribes millions of dollars each year, but would boost funding for the state's education system.
The National Indian Gaming Commission wants to create a greater distinction between Class II games based on bingo and Class III, or Las Vegas-style, slot machines.
The distinction is important because states can only collect a portion of tribes' profits from Class III games.
Indian gaming experts have said the vast majority of existing Class II machines would become illegal in 2013 if the new regulations, as proposed, take effect.
Tribes have almost universally denounced the plan as an unfair imposition on their sovereignty.
Two Oklahoma congressmen seem to agree, according to their recent letters to the commission.
"I remain deeply concerned that there has not been sufficient consideration of the economic impacts of these proposed regulations," Rep. Dan Boren, D-Okla., wrote in a Dec. 20 letter.
Boren joined Rep. Tom Cole, R-Okla., in a second letter asking that the comment period on the proposed changes be extended until June.
However, a letter signed by 10 other congressmen urges "prompt adoption" of the proposed rules.
Both Boren and Cole are on the House Natural Resources Committee, which oversees Indian gaming.
The 30,044 Class II machines in Oklahoma at the end of 2006 represented 59 percent of all such machines in the country, economist Alan Meister reported in a study prepared for the Indian gaming commission.
In 2004, Oklahoma voters approved compacts allowing tribes to offer modified Class III slot machines. In return, tribes must pay the state 4 percent to 6 percent of the revenue.
That money goes to fund teacher pay raises and other education programs. Tribes paid the state $54.5 million from Class III machine revenue in 2007, according to the Office of State Finance.
Most state tribal casinos have incorporated Class III games, and a few have moved solely to compacted machines. However, Class II machines still comprise a large majority of the games available in Oklahoma, Meister reported.
Meister said the proposed Class II restrictions would force tribes to use only compacted machines by 2013.
If that happens, Oklahoma tribes would have to pay the state an estimated $122.3 million a year in revenue-sharing costs, Meister reported.
Oklahoma's current tribal gaming compacts expire in 2020.
No comments:
Post a Comment