Compacts are a win all around
In April, the state of Oklahoma and the Comanche Nation and Otoe-Missouria Tribe announced new gaming compacts that are in the best interest of our tribal members, local communities and our state. This historic agreement levels the playing field on gaming in Oklahoma and ends the one-size-fitsall approach to tribal gaming in our state, allowing for a free market to work.
These compacts will allow us to grow our gaming operations, which will have a positive revenue impact on the state and the communities where our tribes operate, especially in a time where state and local budgets are suffering and likely will continue to be in the years ahead.
In reaching these agreements, we acted in the best interest of our members and the collective Oklahoma community. The deals will have a generational impact on our tribal members and communities and will likely change the face of gaming in Oklahoma for years to come. We negotiated these legal compacts in good faith, and felt it was a prudent exercise of our sovereignty to engage in negotiations for new compacts.
The gaming industry is undergoing rapid transformation and technological innovation. These new compacts will allow the Comanche Nation and Otoe-Missouria Tribe to be creative and agile so we can maximize the economics and enhance the gaming experience for all users.
The compacts also will create opportunities for event wagering, including sports betting. A growing national trend, this will expand the gaming options in Oklahoma in a dynamic way, help us compete with other states, bring in a needed new source of revenue for the state and local communities and fill a void in our gaming market in a responsible way. The compacts allow for the wagering on professional sports, e-sports, intercollegiate sports for schools not located in the state and intercollegiate events not occurring in the state.
These compacts will give local communities and the state a way to diversify our economy and control our destiny. We talk frequently about wanting to live and work in a top 10 state, and these new compacts will help us improve our quality of life for all Oklahomans. We now have an opportunity to level the playing field, bring in more state and local revenue for our schools, roads and hospitals and be good neighbors in the communities where we live and work.
These compacts are legally sound and are good for our people and the state of Oklahoma, and deserve to be approved by the Office of Indian Gaming under the U.S. Department of Interior.