Oklahoma has long been synonymous with Bingo. That is due to the fact that the American Indian bands of Oklahoma have operated Bingo games for decades. Patrons from many of the surrounding states pile in vans and head over to Oklahoma to wager on Bingo for the weekends.
The 1988 (IGRA) Indian Gaming Regulatory Act became law after a benchmark determination by The U.S. Supreme Court the year before. Since that time, 23 of the 39 Amerindian tribes of Oklahoma have introduced bingo halls. The Chickasaw were the first Oklahoma Native band to take advantage of the gaming restrictions, and at this time operate 10 casinos of their own. Bingo is the game on which these casinos were built on. Electronic games such as slots weren’t allowed, on the grounds that they are thought to contribute to gambling dependency more than bingo.
In recent years, Oklahoma rules has changed to permit gigantic Indian betting casinos. You’ll now see Native casinos with slot machines, video poker and vingt-et-un tables. Craps and roulette are still not approved in the Native gambling halls yet, but this is just a matter of time. Nobody can authority what having other casino games in the bingo parlors will do for the appeal of bingo.
