Bingo and Oklahoma: Two birds of a feather


Oklahoma has for a long time been interrelated with Bingo. This is due to the fact that the American Indian bands of Oklahoma have run Bingo games for decades. Clients from each of the surrounding states get in vans and travel to Oklahoma to play Bingo over the weekends.

The 1988 Indian Gaming Regulatory Act became law after a landmark determination by The U.S. Supreme Court just the year before. Since that time, 23 of the 39 Indian bands located in Oklahoma have opened gaming halls. The Chickasaw were the first Oklahoma American Indian band to take advantage of the betting restrictions, and at this time run ten casinos of their own. Bingo was the game on which these gambling halls were built on. Electronic games such as slot machine games weren’t authorized, owing to the fact that they’re thought to lead to gambling dependency at a higher rate than bingo.

In recent years, Oklahoma law has changed to permit big Native gaming gambling halls. You will now discover Indian casinos with slots, video poker and blackjack tables. Craps and roulette are not yet approved in the American Indian gambling halls yet, but that is simply a matter of time. No one can say what having different games in the bingo parlors will do for the popularity of bingo.

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