Oklahoma AG Hires Dykema Gossett to Represent the State in Gaming Talks

Mike Hunter, the Attorney General of Oklahoma, has agreed to pay Dykema Gossett up to $250,000 to represent the state in negotiations with Oklahoma-based Native American tribes over compacts that allow gambling. Republican Mike Hunter’s office has signed the agreement with the national law firm Dykema Gossett.

“When dealing with issues as complex as compact negotiations, it is important to have experts with experience in this area. Dykema has a proven record of success in tribal compact and gaming negotiations. We believe with their help, we can achieve a successful outcome for both the state and our tribal partners,” Hunter spokesman Alex Gerszewski said.

Discussions between the state and the tribes got off to a rocky start this summer when new Republican Gov. Kevin Stitt said he wanted to renegotiate the deals, suggesting the state should get a larger share of gambling revenue.

Oklahoma’s current gambling compacts call for the tribes to pay the state between 4% and 10% of a casino’s net revenue in “exclusivity fees.” Those fees generated nearly $139 million in payments to the state last year on roughly $2.3 billion in revenue from games covered under the compacts.