Judge orders Oklahoman tribes to mediate gambling dispute
The federal judge ordered tribes in Oklahoma and the local governor to mediate the gambling compact dispute.
US.- District Court Chief Judge Timothy D. DeGiusti ordered this week that the tribes and the Governor Kevin Stitt must submit a list of three proposed mediators. The federal judge seeks to solve the dispute over the gambling compacts that give tribes the exclusive rights to operate casinos in Oklahoma.
The tribes claim that the gambling compact automatically renewed on January 1, while the governor believes that the compacts expired that day. The order from the federal judge says that the court will quickly appoint one mediator to facilitate those discussions, and both parties seem to agree with the judge’s decision.
Last month, Stitt asked a federal judge to order the tribes to stop offering some games. Stitt wants Class III games to stop operating, which is why he filed a lawsuit. In December, he used tribal leaders to sign an extension to continue negotiations on the gaming compact. He wanted to assure that business would continue without problems as they resolve the dispute.
“To protect all the hard-working Oklahomans and the tribal members who are employed at more than 100 casinos across our great state, I am announcing today that the state of Oklahoma will be requesting tribal leaders to join me in signing an extension to the gaming compact,” Stitt said at the time. “The language in this extension will allow each side who signs the extension to retain their legal position.”