Oklahoma has long been synonymous with Bingo. That is because the Amerindian bands of Oklahoma have operated Bingo games for generations. Clients from each of the surrounding states pile in vehicles and head over to Oklahoma to bet on Bingo on the weekends.
The 1988 IGRA followed a benchmark determination by The U.S. Supreme Court the year before. Since that time, twenty three of the thirty nine Amerindian tribes of Oklahoma have introduced gaming halls. The Chickasaw were the initial Oklahoma Indian band to take advantage of the betting restrictions, and today run 10 gambling halls of their own. Bingo was the game on which these gambling halls were founded. computerized games like one armed bandits weren’t approved, because they are thought to contribute to gambling dependency at a higher rate than bingo.
In recent years, Oklahoma rules has changed to permit big American Indian betting gambling halls. You will now see Amerindian gambling dens with one armed bandits, video poker and chemin de fer tables. Craps and roulette are not legal in the American Indian casinos yet, although this is only a waiting game. No one can say what having other games in the bingo houses will do for the appeal of bingo.