A Second Oklahoma Tribe Is Interested In Opening Casinos In Arkansas
- The Choctaw Nation is interested in operating casinos in Arkansas.
- The Cherokee Nation from Oklahoma has also filed a similar application.
- The Cherokee Nation has support from Pope County while the Choctaw Nation does not.
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. – The Choctaw Nation has submitted an application to the Arkansas Racing Commission for a gaming license.
The Choctaw Nation is a tribe that is based out of Oklahoma. In late 2018, voters of Arkansas approved of Issue 4 which expanded gambling in the state. This allowed potential gaming operators to apply for commercial casino licenses in Arkansas. The Choctaw Nation wants to expand its operations outside of Oklahoma and open casinos in Arkansas.
But the Choctaw Nation is not the only tribe from Oklahoma interested in expanding legal gambling operations to Arkansas.
The Cherokee Nation also wants open legal casinos in the Natural State. The only difference between the two is that the Cherokee Nation had a complete application.
“Cherokee Nation Businesses (CNB) is the only operator to fully meet the qualification requirements pursuant to Amendment 100, and we remain highly optimistic upon today’s closing of the application window set forth by the Arkansas State Racing Commission,” said Chuck Garrett, Cherokee CEO.
The Choctaw Nation is missing a key part of their application. Each application must have letters of support from Pope County officials. The Choctaw Nation does not have these letters of support, which makes its application incomplete.
On the other hand, the Cherokee Nation does have letters of support necessary. However, the Choctaw Nation believes that they still have a chance to gain approval.
“The Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma has consistently advocated for a fair, open and transparent process. We hope that the state will take action to allow all proposals to receive fair consideration,” said Janie Dillard, spokesperson for the Choctaw Nation.
Even if that is the case, the Cherokee Nation did submit a complete application. This puts the Choctaw Nation in a difficult position. The Arkansas Racing Commission required these letters of support to properly process applications. If one application is complete, the Arkansas Racing Commission will likely not process the application from the Choctaw Nation. That would mean that the Choctaw Nation could lose out on the last commercial casino permit in Arkansas.