Many gambling enthusiasts in the United States are at least vaguely familiar with the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act, US law Pub.L. 100–497, 25 U.S.C. § 2701.

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Class II machines only mimic slots but they have bingo soul: the outcome of the game is determined by the draw of the bingo numbers, which are later translated into slot reel combinations. So, think of it this way – when you place a wager on such devices, you, actually, buy a lottery ticket.

Passed in 1988, this federal law established how Indian (Native American) gaming would be managed and regulated. The act included definitions for 3 types or classes of gambling games. They are usually referred to as:

1. Class I games
2. Class II games
3. Class III games

Congress passed the law to help Native American tribes and nations improve their economic status after more than a century of oppression and exclusion in mainstream US society. Many Native American groups wanted to build land-based casinos, which would not only attract tourists but create jobs.

There was considerable resistance to this movement in many states, most of which did not allow gambling of any kind. To help resolve the conflicts and provide some clarity between treaties, state law, and federal law, the US government established a framework that eliminated some barriers to Native American investment in gambling industries. The law also provided some regulatory limits to respect state laws.

The Indian Gaming Regulatory Act introduced some confusion into the worldwide lexicon of gambling games because the distinctions are only observed within US jurisdictions. Other nations regulate gambling with different definitions.

But as the internet became a worldwide communications network in the 1990s and 2000s, most of the content published about gambling dealt with US law and casinos. Although non-US casinos have to observe their own laws and regulations, players who research gambling law on the internet must be careful to distinguish between USA gambling definitions and other gambling definitions.

What Are the 3 Classes of Gambling Games?

Class I gambling includes all traditional Native American gambling games, most of which are only used for ceremonial purposes or in the contexts of cultural-specific celebrations and ceremonies. These games, which are only available at small stakes, are completely regulated by the Native American tribes and nations.

Class II gambling includes all variations of bingo games, player-vs-player card games like poker (where the house does not play a hand in the game), tip jars, pull-tab games, punch card games, and anything similar. Some people mistakenly include lottery games in this category, but the law clearly excludes state-run lotteries and similar games from Class II.

Class III gambling consists of everything that is not included under Class I gambling or Class II gambling. That means the lottery games you play are Class III gambling games. Slot games, roulette, dice games, and card games like blackjack where the house is also a player all fall under the Class III gambling games category.

So How Can There Be Class II Slot Machine Games?

If you’ve ever visited a Native American casino–like the Winstar Casino in Oklahoma, you’ve almost certainly played some Class II slot machine games. They look much like traditional slot machine games. They have 3 to 5reels with symbols on them, they pay jackpots, and they do everything else you expect of a slot game.

And yet, they are not slot machine games.

A clever company in Franklin, TN, known as Video Gaming Technologies, or VGT, developed electronic bingo games for Native American casinos that use the results of those bingo games to emulate slot game action.

In other words, the slot machine cabinets contain two screens, one that displays the results of the bingo game and one that displays the results of the simulated slot game. This dual visualization of the gambling game takes advantage of the fact that at the core of all gambling games is a simple principle:

You’re making a wager on an unknown outcome. What the Class II slot games do is take the result of the bingo game to determine what happens in the slot game.

What’s cool about this approach is that VGT was able to add bonus games to the bingo games that work like slot machine bonus games. They’ve developed a huge selection of bingo games that play like slot games. VGT is so successful they were acquired by Aristocrat Leisure Limited in 2014, although the former VGT still operates as an independent subsidiary company of Aristocrat.

How Do Class III Slot Machine Games Work?

The key to the hybridization of bingo and slot machine games is the Random Number Generator. Mathematicians have been developing algorithms to calculate unpredictable numbers for hundreds of years. For a detailed look at the concept, read “How Do Random Number Generators Work?” on Jackpots Online. Although the RNG does not produce a truly random number, in typical circumstances the number is random enough. Even so, slot game designers use random numbers in multiple ways.

Before I continue, I should mention that US law requires slot game designers to work by different rules from other countries’ slot games. In the United Kingdom, for example, the outcome of a slot game is determined by a single random number. In the United States, the outcome of the Class III slot game is determined by several random numbers.

To begin with, an electronic slot machine or online slot game uses a software concept called an array to represent each reel. Computer arrays work like rows of boxes, where each box holds one piece of information. The arrays for slot reels may have anywhere from 22 to 256 slots. Each slot in the array holds a symbol marker that tells the slot machine game what to display on the screen.

Slot game designers use special algorithms to decide how often each type of symbol should appear in each slot array. The frequency of the symbol’s use in the array and the size of the array determine how likely or unlikely it is for any single spin of the slot game reels to create one or more winning combinations. The game’s software may award prizes for one or more winning combinations at a time, depending on how many pay lines the game offers.

The random number generator produces a new number every few milliseconds. The number is placed in a temporary memory location called a register. The slot game software grabs the latest random number from the register and uses that to determine what happens next. For example, a 5 reel slot game needs 5 random numbers to pick how many slot positions will be spun on each reel before the reels stop in new locations. If the slot game awards random prizes like progressive jackpots, these are determined by additional random numbers.

How Class II Slot Machine Games Differ from Class III Slot Machine Games

What VGT did was create bingo game software that determines the actual prizes awarded to players.

But to make the bingo games look like slot games, they used the bingo game’s random results as if they are the random numbers that Class III slot games use.

To ensure that the slot game winning combinations match the bingo game prize values the VGT games work more like slot games in the United Kingdom. The game determines what prize was won and then creates a short video simulation of the slots landing on that winning combination.

Conclusion

How do class II slot machines work?

Either way, the slot games award prizes on a random basis. You could say that US gaming laws are paranoid in that Class III slot game software is required to closely emulate the physical spinning of slot reels. In fact, physical slot reel games have been displaying results of these virtual, in-memory array games for more than 20 years. So even when you see physical reels spinning, their stop positions have already been determined within microseconds of your pressing SPIN.

The Class II slot gaming experience is a fun gaming experience.

But the bingo game is displayed on a small screen, because VGT’s designers have found that players don’t enjoy looking at bingo patterns as much as they enjoy looking at 3 to 5 reels spinning and stopping on various symbols.

For the player, what matters is that they’re gambling for real money on an unpredictable outcome–and they can enjoy an entertaining evening with friends or loved ones.

Introduction to Oklahoma Slot Machine Casino Gambling in 2020

Oklahoma slot machine casino gambling consists of 131 American Indian tribal casinos, casino resorts, travel centers, and “gasinos” along with two pari-mutuel racetracks with slot machines.

No theoretical payout limits have been set for tribal casinos in Oklahoma. In addition, no return statistics are publicly available.

This post continues my weekly State-By-State Slot Machine Casino Gambling Series, an online resource dedicated to guiding slot machine casino gambler to success. Now in its third year, each weekly post reviews slots gambling in a single U.S. state, territory, or federal district.

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Relevant Legal Statutes on Gambling in Oklahoma*

The minimum legal gambling age in Oklahoma depends upon the gambling activity:

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• Land-Based Casinos: 18
• Poker Rooms: 18
• Bingo: 16
• Lottery: 18
• Pari-Mutuel Wagering: 18

In November 2004, Oklahoma residents approved a State-Tribal Gaming Act through a referendum. This vote enacted a model tribal gaming compact allowing tribes to use new gaming machines and card games. Based on this generic model, 31 tribes negotiated state-tribal compacts with the state of Oklahoma.

*The purpose of this section is to inform the public of state gambling laws and how the laws might apply to various forms of gaming. It is not legal advice.

Slot Machine Private Ownership in Oklahoma

It is legal to own a slot machine privately in the state of Oklahoma if it is 25 years old or older.

Gaming Control Board in Oklahoma

Oklahoma’s state-tribal compacts regulate tribal gaming in Oklahoma. However, the state of Oklahoma provides oversight under these compacts, which is the legal responsibility of Oklahoma’s Gaming Compliance Unit.

Based on the Oklahoma Gaming Compliance Unit Annual Report 2018, Oklahoma’s casinos prefer offering more Class II games due to Class III games requiring up to an extra 6% of revenue to the state.

The state also collects exclusivity fees from Class III machines. In 2015, 57% of all gaming machines in Oklahoma were Class III games.

Casinos in Oklahoma

As of mid-2019, 31 American Indian tribes operated 131 facilities offering Class III gaming through tribal-state gaming compacts with the state of Oklahoma. These locations include two racetracks offering pari-mutuel wagering and slot machines.

The largest casino in Oklahoma is also the largest casino in the world. This WinStar World Casino and Resort has 7,400 gaming machines.

The second-largest casino is Choctaw Casinos & Resorts – Durant with 4,300 gaming machines.

Commercial Casinos in Oklahoma

Oklahoma has no non-tribal, commercial casinos.

Tribal Casinos in Oklahoma

The 106 largest tribal casinos in Oklahoma, including two pari-mutuel racetracks with slot machines, are:

1. 7 Clans Casinos – Chilocco Gasino in Newkirk, 106 miles north of Oklahoma City.
2. 7 Clans Casinos – First Council Casino Resort in Newkirk, near the border to Kansas.
3. 7 Clans Casinos – Paradise Casino in Red Rock, 82 miles north of Oklahoma City.
4. 7 Clans Casinos – Perry Casino, 65 miles north of Oklahoma City.
5. 7 Clans Casinos – Red Rock Gasino, 82 miles north of Oklahoma City.
6. Ada Gaming Center – East, 85 miles southeast of Oklahoma City.
7. Ada Gaming Center – West, 85 miles southeast of Oklahoma City.
8. Apache Casino Hotel in Lawton, 86 miles southwest of Oklahoma City.
9. Artesian Hotel Casino Spa in Sulphur, 84 miles south of Oklahoma City.
10. Black Gold Casino in Wilson, 112 miles south of Oklahoma City.
11. Border Casino in Thackerville, 124 miles south of Oklahoma City.
12. Buffalo Run Casino & Resort in Miami, 89 miles northeast of Tulsa.
13. Casino Oklahoma in Hinton, 55 miles west of Oklahoma City.
14. Cherokee Casino & Hotel – Ft. Gibson, 80 miles east of Tulsa.
15. Cherokee Casino & Hotel – Grove, 100 miles northeast of Tulsa.
16. Cherokee Casino & Hotel – Ramona, 30 miles north of Tulsa.
17. Cherokee Casino & Hotel – Roland, 175 miles east of Oklahoma City.
18. Cherokee Casino & Hotel – Sallisaw, 160 miles east of Oklahoma City.
19. Cherokee Casino & Hotel – South Coffeyville, 70 miles northeast of Tulsa.
20. Cherokee Casino & Hotel – Tahlequah, 83 miles southeast of Tulsa.
21. Cherokee Casino & Hotel – West Siloam Springs, 85 miles east of Tulsa.
22. Cherokee Casino & Hotel – Will Rogers Downs in Claremore, 30 miles northeast of Tulsa.
23. Chickasaw Travel Stop – Davis West, 75 miles south of Oklahoma City.
24. Chickasaw Travel Stop – Wilson, 112 miles south of Oklahoma City.
25. Chisholm Trail Casino in Duncan, 79 miles south of Oklahoma City.
26. Choctaw Casinos & Resorts – Broken Bow, 235 miles southeast of Oklahoma City.
27. Choctaw Casinos & Resorts – Durant, 150 miles southeast of Oklahoma City.
28. Choctaw Casinos & Resorts – Grant, 200 miles south of Oklahoma City.
29. Choctaw Casinos & Resorts – Idabel, 240 miles southeast of Oklahoma City.
30. Choctaw Casinos & Resorts – McAlester, 130 miles southeast of Oklahoma City.
31. Choctaw Casinos & Resorts – Pocola, 195 miles east of Oklahoma City.
32. Choctaw Casinos & Resorts – Stringtown, 163 miles southeast of Oklahoma City.
33. Cimarron Casino in Perkins, 60 miles north of Oklahoma City.
34. Comanche Nation Casino in Lawton, 86 miles southwest of Oklahoma City.
35. Comanche Red River Hotel Casino in Devol, 125 miles southwest of Oklahoma City.
36. Comanche Spur Casino in Eldon, 75 miles southwest of Oklahoma City.
37. Comanche Star Casino in Walters, 25 miles southeast of Lawton.
38. Creek Nation Casino Bristow, 60 miles northeast of Oklahoma City.
39. Creek Nation Casino Eufaula, 135 miles east of Oklahoma City.
40. Creek Nation Casino Holdenville, 75 miles northeast of Oklahoma City.
41. Creek Nation Casino Muscogee, 50 miles southeast of Tulsa.
42. Creek Nation Checotah Casino, 120 miles east of Oklahoma City.
43. Downstream Casino Resort in Quapaw, on the border of Oklahoma with Missouri and Kansas.
44. Duck Creek Casino in Beggs, 35 miles south of Tulsa.
45. Gold Mountain Casino in Ardmore, 100 miles south of Oklahoma City.
46. Gold River Casino in Anadarko, 60 miles southwest of Oklahoma City.
47. Golden Pony Casino in Okemah, 72 miles east of Oklahoma City.
48. Goldsby Gaming Center in Norman, 21 miles south of Oklahoma City.
49. Grand Casino Hotel Resort in Shawnee, 38 miles east of Oklahoma City.
50. Grand Lake Casino in Grove, 80 miles northeast of Tulsa.
51. Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Tulsa in Catoosa, on the outskirts of Tulsa.
52. High Winds Casino in Miami, 89 miles northeast of Tulsa.
53. Indigo Sky Casino & Resort in Wyandotte, 90 miles northeast of Oklahoma City.
54. Ioway Casino in Chandler, 40 miles northeast of Oklahoma City.
55. Kickapoo Casino Harrah, 31 miles east of Oklahoma City.
56. Kickapoo Casino Shawnee, 38 miles east of Oklahoma City.
57. Kiowa Casino Carnegie, 94 miles southwest of Oklahoma City.
58. Kiowa Casino Hotel Red River in Devol, 125 miles southwest of Oklahoma City.
59. Kiowa Casino Verden, 57 miles southwest of Oklahoma City.
60. Lucky Star Casino Canton, 60 miles northwest of Oklahoma City.
61. Lucky Star Casino Clinton, 85 miles west of Oklahoma City.
62. Lucky Star Casino Concho, 35 miles northwest of Oklahoma City.
63. Lucky Star Casino Concho Travel Center, 35 miles northwest of Oklahoma City.
64. Lucky Star Casino Hammon, 120 miles west of Oklahoma City.
65. Lucky Star Casino Watonga, 70 miles northwest of Oklahoma City.
66. Lucky Turtle Casino in Wyandotte, 90 miles northeast of Oklahoma City.
67. Madill Gaming Center in Madill, 122 miles south of Oklahoma City.
68. Native Lights Casino in Newkirk, 106 miles north of Oklahoma City.
69. Newcastle Casino in Newcastle, 19 miles south of Oklahoma City.
70. Okemah Casino, 72 miles east of Oklahoma City.
71. One Fire Casino in Okmulgee, 45 miles south of Tulsa.
72. Osage Casino Hotel Bartlesville, 50 miles north of Tulsa.
73. Osage Casino Hotel Hominy, 44 miles northwest of Tulsa.
74. Osage Casino Hotel Pawhuska, on the outskirts of Tulsa.
75. Osage Casino Hotel Ponca City, 50 miles northwest of Tulsa.
76. Osage Casino Hotel Sand Springs, on the outskirts of Tulsa.
77. Osage Casino Hotel Skiatook, 17 miles north of Tulsa.
78. Prairie Moon Casino in Miami, 89 miles northeast of Tulsa.
79. Prairie Sun Casino in Miami, 89 miles northeast of Tulsa.
80. Quapaw Casino in Miami, 89 miles northeast of Tulsa.
81. Remington Park Racing Casino in Oklahoma City.
82. River Bend Casino Hotel in Wyandotte, 90 miles northeast of Tulsa.
83. River Spirit Casino Resort in Tulsa.
84. Rivermist Casino in Konowa, 75 miles southeast of Oklahoma City.
85. Riverwind Casino in Norman, 12 miles south of Oklahoma City.
86. Sac and Fox Nation Casino in Stroud, 60 miles northeast of Oklahoma City.
87. Saltcreek Casino in Pocasset, 50 miles southwest of Oklahoma City.
88. Seminole Nation Casinos – Seminole Nation Casino in Konawa, 60 miles southeast of Oklahoma City.
89. Seminole Nation Casinos – Trading Post Casino in Wewoka, 60 miles east of Oklahoma City.
90. Southwind Casino Braman, 106 miles north of Oklahoma City.
91. Southwind Casino Kanza in Braman, 106 miles north of Oklahoma City.
92. Southwind Casino Newkirk, 106 miles north of Oklahoma City.
93. The Stables Casino in Miami, 89 miles northeast of Tulsa.
94. Stone Wolf Casino in Pawnee, 106 miles north of Oklahoma City.
95. Sugar Creek Casino in Hinton, 55 miles west of Oklahoma City.
96. Texoma Casino in Kingston, 130 miles south of Oklahoma City.
97. The Black Hawk Casino in Shawnee, 40 miles east of Oklahoma City.
98. Thunderbird Casino Norman, 21 miles south of Oklahoma City.
99. Thunderbird Casino Shawnee, 38 miles east of Oklahoma City.
100. Tonkawa Gasino, 91 miles north of Oklahoma City.
101. Tonkawa Hotel & Casino, 91 miles north of Oklahoma City.
102. Trading Post Casino Pawnee, 57 miles northwest of Tulsa.
103. Treasure Valley Casino & Hotel in Davis, 75 miles south of Oklahoma City.
104. Washita Casino in Paoli, 52 miles south of Oklahoma City.
105. WinStar World Casino and Resort in Thackerville, 124 miles south of Oklahoma City.

Other Gambling Establishments

As an alternative to enjoying Oklahoma slot machine casino gambling, consider exploring casino options in a nearby state. Bordering Oklahoma is:

• North: Colorado Slots and Kansas Slots
• East: Arkansas Slots and Missouri Slots
• South: Texas Slots
• West: New Mexico Slots

Each of the links above will take you to my blog for that neighboring U.S. state to Oklahoma.

Our Oklahoma Slots Facebook Group

Are you interested in sharing and learning with other slots enthusiasts in Oklahoma? If so, join our new Oklahoma slots community on Facebook. All you’ll need is a Facebook profile to join this closed Facebook Group freely.

There, you’ll be able to privately share your slots experiences as well as chat with players about slots gambling in Oklahoma. Join us!

Payout Returns in Oklahoma

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No theoretical payout limits are legally set by Oklahoma’s state-tribal compacts. Further, no return statistics are publicly available.

Summary of Oklahoma Slot Machine Casino Gambling in 2020

Oklahoma slot machine casino gambling consists of over a hundred tribal facilities with electronic gaming machines existing as casino resorts, casinos, convenience stores, travel centers, bingo halls, and more.

Gaming regulations come from a generic tribal-state compact, used by 31 tribes in Oklahoma to legalize Class II bingo-style and Class III Las Vegas-style gaming. It does not include theoretical payout limits nor require that tribes make return statistics publicly available.

Annual Progress in Oklahoma Slot Machine Casino Gambling

Over the last year, Bordertown Casino and Arena closed when the Eastern Shawnee Tribe decided to reassess its business plans and close the facility in December 2019. Also, the Texoma Gaming Center in Kingston became the Texoma Casino.

In early 2020, Governor Kevin Stitt of the State of Oklahoma demanded the state’s tribes update their tribal-state compacts. At issue was an attempt to improve the state’s gaming revenue by increasing income from exclusivity payments for monopoly casino rights. Ultimately, Oklahoma’s tribes united against the Governor, resolving the “bitter feud.”

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Jon Friedl, LLC