We recently reported on a significant disagreement over the Oklahoma Tribal Gaming Compact. A disagreement with potentially millions of dollars at stake. So the question is, did the state’s compacts with Oklahoma gaming tribes expire on Jan. 1 or did they automatically renew?

It’s a simple question that should have a simple answer. Yet, Governor Kevin Stitt, Oklahoma’s gaming tribes and more than a dozen attorneys lining up in federal court to fight over the issue. The answer can be found in one sentence on Page 27 of the state’s model gaming compact.

Before you read that sentence, however, beware. It was constructed by multiple attorneys and is more than 100 words long. That solitary sentence includes the words “this compact shall have a term which will expire on January 1, 2020,” as well as “the compact shall automatically renew for successive additional fifteen-year terms.”

You can find that sentence and an analysis of what it means to Oklahoma Tribal Gaming Compact at the Oklahoman.