How Many Casinos Are in Oklahoma?

The state of Oklahoma approved Las Vegas style gambling on Indian land in 2004. Since then, the number of casinos has expanded to 102. There are 71,000 slot machines and video poker games and 4,600 bingo seats spread across the state. Gamblers travel there from all over, including a heavy concentration of players from Kansas, Missouri, Arkansas, and Texas.

With Native Americans making up roughly 10% of the overall population, it’s not surprising to see so many Indian-run casinos in the state of Oklahoma. The median income level for the state is only $42,000, so tribal authorities are always looking for creative ways to attract tourist traffic. Casino resorts are a great way to do that, and Oklahoma has plenty of them.

The Largest Casino in the World Is in Oklahoma

The WinStar Casino and Resort in Thackerville, Oklahoma, is officially the largest casino resort in the world, larger than any casino in Las Vegas, Connecticut, or Macau. They have 600,000 square feet of gaming space, over 7000 gaming machines, 100 table games, and a bingo hall with a capacity for over 800 people. Nothing else in the US comes close to that.

To put that in perspective, Foxwoods Casino, which comes in fourth on the world’s largest casino list, has only 340,000 square feet of gaming space. The MGM Grand in Las Vegas comes in ninth with 170,000 square feet. Most of the others in the top ten are based in Macau, China, which is widely considered the international gambling capital of the world.

The Chickasaw Nation, owners of the WinStar Casino, didn’t stop with just gambling. The resort also includes a golf course, nightclub, sports lounge, pool bar, spa, and seventeen restaurants with a variety of international menus. There are also entertainment venues like the Global Event Center, which seats 3,500 hundred and the 7,700-seat Colosseum.

Oklahoma Horse Racing Tracks Are Classified as Casinos

Oklahoma is one of the few states that classify horse racing tracks as casinos. That doesn’t come as a surprise, either. Horse racing has been an integral part of Native American culture going back to when the Spanish first brought them here in the 1400’s. The wide-open grasslands of Oklahoma were one of the areas where they were able to thrive.

The horse is a symbol of the American West, and there are plenty of cowboys in Oklahoma. Don’t look for any cowboy and Indian wars in this century, though. Many of the ranch hands working at the Oklahoma horse farms are of Native American descent. Most of the horse tracks in the state are controlled by Native American tribes. 

One of the more popular destinations for horse racing enthusiasts is the Remington Park Racetrack and Casino in Oklahoma City. It contains gambling machines and live tables in addition to the horse track. Other locations, like Fair Meadow, are just a racetrack. Visit the website of the Oklahoma Horse Racing Commission to learn more. 

Gambling Rules and Regulations in Oklahoma

Casino gaming revenue in the state of Oklahoma is roughly $4.4 billion a year, with 35% of that coming from the Chickasaw Nation. The state allows bingo and pulls tabs, slot machines, video poker, and table games. Texas Hold’em and Three Card Poker are extremely popular, as is Blackjack. Whatever you can get in Vegas, you can find it in Oklahoma.

The classifications were established by the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act of 1988. That bill, which was created to relieve some of the economic pressure on Native American reservations, has been responsible for 224 separate Indian tribes opening casinos in the past thirty-five years. The total revenue for those nationwide is over $30 billion.

Online gambling casinos are not legal in Oklahoma, but online sportsbooks, like DraftKings and Fanduel, are allowed to operate in the state. There’s not a big push to change that. Oklahoma is fundamentally a conservative state, and residents are perfectly happy to have gambling activities remain on the reservation. There are no current proposals to amend that.