Gov. Tina Kotek opposes development of tribal casinos in Oregon

Kotek has issued a response over the two new proposed tribal casinos in the state.

Oregon gambling V2
Listen To Article

The Governor of Oregon, Tina Kotek, has sent a letter out to numerous officials, including the leaders of the nine tribes and Oregon Lottery Director Mike Wells, explaining her stance on the proposed tribal casinos.

This comes in response to the Coquille tribe’s efforts to open a casino in Medford and the Siletz Tribe in Salem.

In a statement, Kotek said: “Throughout my legislative career, during my campaign for this office, and since the start of my administration, I have been clear that I do not favour an expansion of gaming.

“This applies to tribes and the state.

“Therefore, my policy on Tribal gaming facilities maintains the status quo from past governors, i.e., good faith bargaining between sovereign tribes and the state on one gaming facility per tribe on reservation land.”

Although the Coquille tribe already has one casino, it is in a relatively remote area and the one-casino-per-tribe doctrine is not a law.

When Gov. John Kitzhaber established the policy in 1997, he did it in an attempt to prevent Oregon from relying on lottery proceeds.

This was at a time when lottery revenue was at $700m; however, the financial report for the Oregon State Lottery in 2022 showed a revenue of $1.7bn.

Brenda Meade, Chair of Coquille Tribe, said: “Oregon’s governors consistently say they want to prevent the proliferation of casinos, but the state is the biggest casino promoter in Oregon.

“The Oregon Lottery’s growing video gaming empire is everywhere—grocery stores, bowling alleys, restaurants, lottery parlours and now even on the internet.”


Casino News Sponsor
Premium+ Connections
 
Premium
 
Premium
 
Premium
 
Premium
 
Premium
 
Premium
 
Premium
 
Premium
 
Premium
 
Premium
 
Premium Connections
Consultancy
Executive Profiles
Soft2Bet
Scientific Games
Digitain Malta
Follow Us

Facing Facts: Q3 2024 analysis

Gambling Insider takes a look at the Q3 results of operators...

Taking stock: The final count of 2024

Gambling Insider tracks operator and supplier prices of some...

CEO Special: Flutter CEO Peter Jackson – Playing to win

As the biggest publicly traded operator in gambling meets th...

CEO Special: Holland Casino CEO Petra de Ruiter – High flier

Petra de Ruiter, Holland Casino CEO, speaks to Gambling Insi...

A welcome from your host

A message from the Founder of the Global Gaming Awards and G...

From the event manager

A message from the Event Manager of the Global Gaming Awards...

From the Awards adjudicator

KPMG in the Crown Dependencies is the official voting adjudi...

The process

The Global Gaming Awards have deservingly earned the reputat...