Cheyenne and Arapaho Tribe File Federal Lawsuit

The Cheyenne and Arapaho tribe in Oklahoma is hoping that a federal lawsuit will allow it to re-establish its online gambling website.

The state agreed to allow the tribe to operate pokertribes.com with international players in a gaming compact. However, the US Department of the Interior put a stop to it last month and the site has been inactive ever since.

Late last week the tribe filed a lawsuit in federal court in Oklahoma City and has asked a judge to prevent the Department of the Interior from interfering.

The Cheyenne and Arapaho tribe is the only one in the state that has permission to operate a gambling website.

An attorney representing the tribe, Richard Grellner, said, “It’s pretty ground-breaking. In Oklahoma, we have the Native American culture we can sell to the world, and the state and the tribes can really benefit.”

In the court filing the tribe has estimated that it could generate $132 million each year by 2018 if it manages to attract 2% of the worldwide online gambling market. According to the gaming compact the tribe would pay the state 4% of the first $10 million in annual net revenue, 5% from the next $10 million and 6% of any subsequent amount.