Oklahoma Gambling Laws

• Casino Gambling: Legal
• Tribal Gambling: Legal
• Poker: Legal (Tribal Only)
• Horse Racing Betting: Legal
• Dog Racing Betting: Not Legal
• Lottery: Legal
• Daily Fantasy Sports: Not Specified
• Charitable Gaming: Legal
• Social Gambling: Not Legal
• Online Gambling: Not Specified

Like other states in the Midwest, Oklahoma doesn’t have a big population at 3.92 million residents.

Despite its smallish population, the Sooner State has become the capital of tribal gaming, with dozens of Native American casinos located within its borders.

Of course, this should be little surprise when considering that Oklahoma has the highest per-capita number of Native American residents.

Oklahoma gaming compacts are in effect until their expiration date of January 1, 2020. The compacts may also be terminated by mutual consent of the Tribe and the State of Oklahoma. What happens to profits from Indian gaming operations? Gambling Laws in Oklahoma. Currently, Oklahoma has very few options for legal, licensed and secure online betting. Land-based gambling is legalized in Oklahoma is hosted on tribal lands under compacts between the state and 33 tribes. The law allows tribes to offer all major forms of gambling in Oklahoma apart from sports betting. Charitable gaming in Oklahoma was legalized by the Oklahoma Charity. Oklahoma Gambling and State Lottery Laws Like a lot of states, Oklahoma restricts casino-style gambling operations to Native American reservations, and also allows betting on horse racing and certain types of games for the benefit of charity or nonprofit groups (such as church bingo fundraisers).

The tribal casinos collectively bring in billions of dollars every year, giving Oklahoma one of the biggest casino industries in the US.

With how large their tribal gaming presence is, you’d think that the state would be more lenient with other forms of gaming.

But they have strict regulations against most other gambling, including bans on social gaming, and felony laws against sports bettors.

With harsh statues in place, Oklahoma is definitely one state where you don’t want to violate gambling laws. That said, let’s continue discussing their laws and overall gaming industry.

As covered in the introduction, Oklahoma has a thriving tribal gaming market. And one big reason for this is because the state’s tribes are allowed to offer both Class II and Class III gaming.

The Class III category includes Vegas-style gaming like baccarat, blackjack, craps, roulette, three-card poker, and slot machines.

Class II gaming consists of bingo, pull-tabs, and punch boards. This category also features slot machines that determine results with electronic bingo drawings, rather than random number generators.

Under the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act (IGRA) of 1988, states are only mandated to allow Class II games when they negotiate compacts with tribes.

But given that Oklahoma’s tribes can also offer Class III games, they’re able to draw more players thanks to increased variety.

This has been good for both the tribes and state. Oklahoma casinos collectively made a record-$4.2 billion in 2014, and they’ve continued to generate a significant amount of revenue ever since.

Native American casinos only have to pay exclusivity fees from their Class III earnings. This amount reached $2.2 billion in 2016, with $132 million going to the state in fees.

Oklahoma’s other big source of gambling revenue comes from their lottery, which generates $200 million in ticket sales per year.

35%, or $70 million, of this amount goes towards the state, which is then distributed among the K-12 school fund, teachers’ retirement, career tech, and higher education fund.

The reason for the split minimum gambling ages is that some reservations allow 18-year-olds, while others set the minimum at 21.

Another odd thing about Oklahoma’s gaming market is that it’s governed by multiple entities. We see that the Oklahoma Office for State Finance and OSF Games Compliance Unit have a hand in state-regulated activities, while the Oklahoma Indian Gaming Association handles the casinos.

Speaking of which, there are numerous tribal casinos to oversee. We still can’t get over how a state with less than 4 million people features 126 casinos.

The biggest of these casinos is WinStar World Casino & Resort, which is also one of the largest gambling establishments in the world. WinStar features 7,400 slot machines, 96 table games, and a big poker room.

The second-largest casino is the Norman-based Riverwind, which offers 2,700 slot machines and 96 table games.

Is Poker Legal in Oklahoma?

Oklahoma Gambling Age

Oklahoma falls in the middle of the spectrum when it comes to state gambling laws. In some areas, they are totally flexible, while in others they simply will not tolerate any sort of gambling. To learn more about Oklahoma’s gambling laws and what they’ve got to do with your poker games, keep on reading.

Oklahoma Gaming Commission

Learn which USA poker sites will accept players from the state of Oaklahoma

Does Oklahoma Allow Home Poker Games?

Gambling Laws By State

In short, no; private home poker games are illegal in Oklahoma. When we are looking at home games in this state, there are two kinds of crimes being committed. First, the owner of the home is guilty of conducting gambling. According to section 21-941 of the Oklahoma Penal Code, “Every person who opens… or who conducts… or carries on either poker… or who either as owner or employee, whether for hire or not, deals for those engaged in any such game, shall be guilty of a felony.”

That’s right, hosting a home poker game is a felony in Oklahoma! The law states that the convicted operators are subject to a fine of $500-$2000 and one to ten years in prison! In case you were thinking about hosting a poker game, these severe punishments should serve as a reminder that the state is very serious about not gambling.

As for the actual players at a home game, the punishment is not as harsh. As dictated in Section 21-942, a fine of $25-$100 and imprisonment for 1-30 days is the prescribed punishment. While not as bad, most weekend poker players still don’t like the sounds of spending a night in jail.

Do The Casinos in Oklahoma Offer Poker?

So far, the look we have had at Oklahoma’s Penal Code has painted a grim picture, but be assured that it’s not all bad. In fact, the casino industry in Oklahoma is burgeoning, and poker hasn’t been left behind. There are some fairly modern casinos in this state, and they know how to take care of their players with all of the slots, table games, and poker you can handle.

When it comes to poker, we’re not just talking about some 3-card casino version. These casinos have legitimate poker rooms, with rows of tables dedicated to games like Texas Hold ‘em, Omaha Hi/Lo, Stud, and more. Since you’ll be playing with a professional dealer and getting the VIP treatment, this really might not be a bad alternative to a home game.

Oklahoma Online Gambling

Is Online Poker Legal In Oklahoma?

Oklahoma hasn’t gone after online gambling the way a few states have so it’s hard to say whether or not online poker is legal. Some people will tell you that the laws prohibiting gambling in the state forbid online poker. Others will say that the laws are not at all related to online gambling. The truth is that we can’t say for sure.

Until someone is arrested and charged with gambling (for playing poker online) the courts cannot make a ruling on the issue and we’re left in the dark. So proceed with caution, but know that many players feel comfortable knowing that the state doesn’t have the tools, or the rights to monitor their Internet usage.

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