Stitt offered the two tribes sports betting, something he was not legally empowered to do, according to Hunter, who added that the new compacts failed to meet the requirements of the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act.<\/p>\n
\u201cHow a state enters into a gaming compact with a tribe, including whether the governor may do so unilaterally in contravention of state statute, is a core concern of the state\u2019s constitutional structure and is therefore a matter of state law,\u201d wrote Hunter in a letter this week to Interior Secretary David Bernhardt.<\/p>\n
“[The tribes] are an integral part of our community, history, culture, economy, and way of life,\u201d he added. \u201cTheir importance demands the respect of knowing that, when state officials make promises to Indian tribes, those officials have the authority to bind the State to such agreements.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
\u201cTo do otherwise undermines the credibility and honor of the state when engaging in these sensitive inter-sovereign relations,\u201d Hunter continued. \u201cUnfortunately, I fear the agreements sent recently to you by the governor will only have the effect of damaging the relationship between the state and these two tribes.\u201d<\/p>\n
Stitt\u2019s office described the new compacts Tuesday as \u201cunquestionably legal.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt lacks the authority to enter into tribal gaming compacts that include sports betting, his attorney general contends, because this type of wagering has not been approved by the legislature. That\u2019s the opinion of the State Attorney General Mike Hunter, who has written to the US Department of the Interior (DOI) requesting […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":36,"featured_media":135061,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[61,18456],"tags":[],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n
Oklahoma AG Says Gov. Stitt Had No Right to Promise Sports Betting<\/title>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\n\n\n\n\n\t\n\t\n\t\n