TULSA, Okla. (AP) — The federal government has approved the Osage Nation's request to place in federal trust the lands on which the tribe has three casinos.

The Tulsa World reports Osage Principal Chief John Red Eagle and Bureau of Indian Affairs regional director Charles Head on Tuesday signed the documents to place casinos in Tulsa, Skiatook and Ponca City in trust.

Tribal casinos must operate either on federal recognized reservations or on land that's been placed in trust in states where gambling is otherwise illegal.

The casinos had operated since 2005 under the National Indian Gaming Commission determination that the tribe's reservation still existed.

That determination was overturned in 2010 and the tribe's claim that Osage County remained a reservation was rejected by federal courts.