Oklahoma benefits from tribal casinos

The state gaming association released the annual economic report.

US.- The Oklahoma Indian Gaming Association (OIGA) announced economic results from 2015 and 2016. In just 2015, the total economic amount of annual operations was US$7.2 billion, up from the US$6.9 billion registered the previous year.

Brian Foster, chairman of the OIGA, said: “One of the main things that was really impressive was that 60 percent of over a billion dollars in payroll was in rural areas. So, smaller communities are seeing job benefits.” According to KFOR, almost 66 percent of the 28.000 jobs that the industry provided were in rural areas of Oklahoma. Co-founder of KlasRobinson Q.E.D James Klas said that he doesn’t know of any state in the country that has come so far and accomplishes so much. “I think that Oklahomans and Oklahoma should be proud of the magnitude of the industry,” he added.

The Shawnee Tribe announced in 2016 its plans to build a US$25 million gambling facility in Guymon, Oklahoma, and after a year, the Native American organisation is close to obtaining the permits it needs to move forward. The Golden Mesa Casino would feature a 42,310 square feet venue, and it would be located in Guymon, 400 miles away from the Shawnee tribe’s headquarters in Oklahoma. Kyle Dean, the Director for the Center of Native American and Urban Studies at Oklahoma City University, said: “I would just comment that, in Oklahoma, it’s a little complicated to talk about tribal trust land, because most of the lands in Oklahoma aren’t traditional to our tribes. So, as a matter of perspective, we need to hold that in mind.”

“I think, if you were to put a casino in that part of the state, there is an under served population in terms of entertainment options as well as potential exports to Colorado, Kansas, New Mexico and Texas,” he added.