Preparing for ball and dice games at casinos was among the major topics discussed at the recent Oklahoma Indian Gaming Association meeting in Oklahoma City. Under the new law, approved during the previous legislative session, roulette and craps will be allowed at tribal casinos. That means, “You don’t have to leave Oklahoma to get the full casino experience,” said Oklahoma Indian Gaming Association General Counsel Dean Luthey. OIGA Chairman David Qualls added, “Which creates more commerce but, more importantly, it creates more tourism for the state. Those players who generally like that form of gaming have not been coming to Oklahoma because we don’t do that.”
Tribal officials said the addition of ball and dice will bring an immediate $20 million in new revenue to Oklahoma.
Nearly half of the tribes in Oklahoma have amended their gambling compacts with the state to allow the games. Chickasaw Nation
Matthew Morgan said, “A lot of the tribes that have decided to pursue that, they already have the equipment bought. They already started training their employees on how the game runs. It’s very complex. Lots of rules that go into that,” said Chickasaw Nation Director of Gaming Affairs Matthew Morgan.
Now tribes are waiting for approval from the federal Department of Interior, which could happen by October. “Labor Day’s a little optimistic. Maybe shortly after that,” Luthey said. He added, “We’ve encouraged the member tribes to use this time to adopt appropriate technical standards and surveillance to ensure the games are fair.”
The games will be played slightly differently in Oklahoma than they are in Las Vegas, since players will play against each other instead of the house.
Show attendees also discussed the possibility of sports betting being approved in Oklahoma. Qualls said, “I was surprised. It was a monumental discussion. Sports betting is going to have a large impact on gaming jurisdictions all over the nation.”
Morgan added, “I think it is something that we will be interested in. It just really turns on how the state would allow that to come forward. Those games have a very small margin. And, it’s very important what the tax rate looks like, what the regulatory structure looks like.”
