Oklahoma’s governor says new gaming compacts with tribal casino operators are perfectly legal, despite public protests by the state’s top law enforcement officer.

Last Friday, Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt issued a letter to the leaders of the state’s two legislative chambers, in response to their concerns (and those of Attorney General Mike Hunter) that the gaming compacts Stitt announced last week with the Comanche Nation and the Otoe-Missouria Tribe may not survive legal scrutiny.

The compacts would allow each tribe to build new casinos off tribal land (pending approval of the federal Bureau of Indian Affairs) and to operate both retail and on-site mobile sports betting, despite the state having yet to authorize legal wagering by any of its licensed gaming operators.

Stitt’s letter takes issue with legislators’ claims that the compacts are “unauthorized by law and void without action by the Oklahoma Legislature.” Legislators further allege that Stitt’s actions represent a “unilateral attempt … to make legal that which is not legal … and to exercise power that belongs solely to the legislative branch.”