Later, the state signed compacts with the tribes that allowed them to offer parimutuel betting and to own ractracks.īut the game-changer came in 2004 when voters approved Las Vegas-style class III gaming at a public referendum. Tribes like the Cherokee and Choctaw Nations operated modest bingo halls in Oklahoma from the early 1990s under IGRA, the federal legislation that codified tribal gaming rights. Other forms of gambling that are legal in Oklahoma include pari-mutuel horse race betting (legalized in 1982), charitable bingo and raffles (1992), and lottery (2004). The state has more tribal gaming venues than any other, 142, although it comes second to California by actual revenue. Oklahoma has a massive tribal gambling industry that's is estimated to generate over $4.5 billion in gross gaming revenue annually, according to the American Gaming Association.