By Associated Press
Tulsa, OK – Okla tribes paid $118.2 M in gaming fees to state
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) Oklahoma Indian tribes paid $118.2 million in gaming fees to the state last fiscal year, helping to ease budget cuts at some state agencies.
Office of State Finance records show the state received $33.3 million from the Chickasaw Nation; $22.7 million from the Choctaw Nation and $12.2 million from the Cherokee Nation. Twenty-seven other tribes paid the state about $50 million.
State Treasurer Scott Meacham says with traditional tax revenues declining, officials used Indian gaming money to stave off some cuts.
He says 88 percent of Indian gaming revenue is earmarked for common education, and the remaining 12 percent goes to the state's general fund.
A report says Oklahoma tribes generated about $2.9 billion in gaming revenues in 2008.
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Information from: The Oklahoman, http://www.newsok.com