Oklahoma has long been synonymous with Bingo. That’s because the American Indian tribes of Oklahoma have run Bingo games for many years. Clients from each of the neighboring states load up in cars and travel to Oklahoma to bet on Bingo on the weekends.
The 1988 Indian Gaming Regulatory Act (IGRA) became law after a precedent setting decree by The U.S. Supreme Court just the year prior. From that instance, twenty three of the thirty nine Amerindian tribes of Oklahoma have introduced gaming halls. The Chickasaw were the first Oklahoma American Indian tribes to take advantage of the wagering rules, and today operate 10 gambling halls of their own. Bingo is the game on which these gambling dens were founded. Electronic games such as slot machine games were not allowed, because they’re thought to contribute to gambling dependency more than bingo.
In recent years, Oklahoma law has altered to allow for massive Indian gambling gambling halls. You’ll now see Amerindian gambling dens with slot machines, video poker and 21 tables. Craps and roulette are not legal in the American Indian gambling dens yet, however this is just a matter of time. No one can authority whether having other gambling den games in the bingo houses will do for the draw of bingo.