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Tribal Casinos in Oklahoma — Every Tribe, Every Property

Oklahoma is the second-largest tribal gaming market in the United States and has more tribal gaming facilities than any other state. 33 of the state's 39 federally recognized tribes operate roughly 135 properties under the 2004 model compact, generating an estimated $6.5 billion in annual Gross Gaming Revenue. This is the complete guide.

39Federally recognized tribesMost of any U.S. state
135Gaming facilitiesMost of any U.S. state
$6.5BEstimated annual GGRSecond only to California
$200M+Annual revenue to stateEducation-funded exclusivity fees

The Oklahoma model, in one paragraph

Oklahoma tribal gaming operates under a 2004 model compact that was approved by state voters via State Question 712 and that defined a category of electronic gaming called "covered games" — broader than Class II bingo but narrower than unrestricted Class III. The compact authorized 33 federally recognized Oklahoma tribes to offer electronic gaming machines in exchange for exclusivity fees paid to the state, with revenues directed primarily to public education. The framework worked smoothly through 2019, when then-newly-elected Governor Kevin Stitt asserted the compact had expired on January 1, 2020. Tribes sued; a federal court ruled in July 2020 that the compact automatically renewed under its own terms. The political dispute has continued to shape Oklahoma's tribal gaming policy ever since, including the state's continued lack of authorized sports betting.

Key facts at a glance

  • Compact framework: 2004 model compact (State Question 712), auto-renewed January 2020
  • Permitted: "covered games" — electronic instant, electronic bonanza-style bingo, electronic amusement games; banked card games (limited)
  • Prohibited: traditional Class III slot machines (in strict reading); commercial roulette; sports betting
  • State revenue share: 4–6% on electronic games, 10% on table games (~$200M annually)
  • Sports betting: not authorized; multiple legislative attempts have failed
  • Online casino / poker: not authorized
  • Primary trade group: Oklahoma Indian Gaming Association (OIGA)
  • State regulator: Oklahoma Horse Racing Commission (limited oversight role under compact)

The 25 largest Oklahoma tribal gaming operators

Below are the largest Oklahoma tribal gaming operators by approximate Gross Gaming Revenue. Each operator name links to their full TribalGaming.com profile (where available) — for the complete directory, see the Casino Directory page.

TribeFlagship propertyLocationTotal properties
Chickasaw NationWinStar World Casino & Resort (largest casino in the world)Thackerville23
Choctaw Nation of OklahomaChoctaw Casino & Resort Durant (Sky Tower)Durant8
Cherokee NationHard Rock Hotel & Casino TulsaCatoosa10
Muscogee (Creek) NationRiver Spirit Casino Resort TulsaTulsa9
Osage NationOsage Casino & Hotel TulsaTulsa region7
Quapaw NationDownstream Casino ResortQuapaw (border with KS/MO)3
Citizen Potawatomi NationGrand Casino Hotel & ResortShawnee2
Comanche NationComanche Red River Casino + 3 othersDevol, Lawton, Walters4
Seminole Nation of OklahomaSeminole Nation Casino KonawaKonawa, Wewoka4
Otoe-Missouria Tribe7 Clans Paradise CasinoRed Rock, Newkirk3
Eastern Shawnee TribeIndigo Sky CasinoWyandotte2
Wyandotte NationLucky Turtle CasinoWyandotte2
Kiowa TribeKiowa Casino — Red RiverDevol3
Kaw NationSouthWind Casino NewkirkNewkirk, Braman3
Sac and Fox NationSac and Fox CasinoStroud2
Tonkawa TribeTonkawa Hotel & CasinoTonkawa1
Iowa Tribe of OklahomaIoway CasinoPerkins1
Pawnee NationPawnee Nation Trading Post CasinoPawnee2
Ponca TribeLil' Bit of Paradise CasinoPonca City1
Wichita and Affiliated TribesSunStar CasinoAnadarko1
Caddo NationCaddo Nation Gaming CenterBinger1
Apache Tribe of OklahomaApache Casino HotelLawton1
Delaware NationGold River CasinoAnadarko1
Modoc NationStables CasinoMiami, OK1
Seneca-Cayuga NationGrand Lake CasinoGrove1

A handful of additional smaller Oklahoma tribes operate gaming. The complete list — including all 130+ Oklahoma tribal gaming facilities — is being built out as individual profile pages in the Casino Directory.

Oklahoma tribal gaming operates under the federal Indian Gaming Regulatory Act (IGRA, 25 U.S.C. §§ 2701–2721) overlaid by Oklahoma's 2004 model compact — formally the State-Tribal Gaming Act. Voters approved the compact framework via State Question 712 on November 2, 2004, and the model compact has since been signed by 33 of the state's 39 federally recognized tribes. (For the federal IGRA framework, see our Legal Guide.)

The 2004 compact was designed to be flexible: it set up an exclusivity-fee structure (the state taxes electronic games at 4–6%, table games at 10%, with revenue earmarked for public education), and it included an auto-renewal clause keyed to the continued offering of electronic gaming or licensed horse racing in the state. This auto-renewal language became the central legal question after 2019.

"Covered games" — Oklahoma's unique category

The Oklahoma compact defines covered games as a specific category of electronic gaming distinct from traditional Class III slots. The defined categories are:

  • Electronic bonanza-style bingo — server-based bingo games where players compete for shared pots
  • Electronic instant games — server-based instant-win games similar to scratch tickets
  • Electronic amusement games — games of skill blended with chance
  • Plus certain non-banked card games and limited banked card games (blackjack, etc.) under compact amendment

In day-to-day customer experience, covered games look and play substantially like Class III slot machines. The legal distinction matters because covered games are operated under a state-tribal compact framework with state revenue sharing, while purely Class II electronic bingo (which most Oklahoma tribes also operate) requires no compact and is regulated only by the tribe and the NIGC.

The Stitt-tribe compact dispute

On January 1, 2020, Oklahoma Governor Kevin Stitt declared that the 2004 model compact had expired, asserting that the auto-renewal language did not operate. He invited tribes to negotiate new individual compacts. Most tribes refused, asserting that the compact had automatically renewed under its own terms.

The Cherokee, Chickasaw, Choctaw, and Citizen Potawatomi tribes filed federal lawsuit in the Western District of Oklahoma. In July 2020, U.S. District Judge Timothy DeGiusti ruled that the 2004 compact had renewed and remained in effect. The Tenth Circuit affirmed in 2022. The Supreme Court declined to take the case in 2023.

In parallel, Governor Stitt negotiated new individual compacts with the Comanche Nation and the Otoe-Missouria Tribe in April 2020 that purported to authorize sports betting and additional games. Other Oklahoma tribes — through OIGA — challenged those compacts in state court, and the Oklahoma Supreme Court invalidated them in July 2020, ruling that the Governor lacked unilateral authority to bind the state to compacts that authorized previously-unauthorized games.

The dispute has had three downstream effects: (1) tribal-state political coordination on gaming policy has stalled, (2) sports-betting legislation has repeatedly failed because no compact amendment is available to authorize tribal sports books, and (3) several large Oklahoma tribes have reoriented their portfolios toward expansion (the Chickasaw Nation's 2026 $400M WinStar expansion is the most prominent example) and away from policy engagement with the Governor's office.

Sports betting in Oklahoma

Oklahoma is one of a shrinking number of U.S. states without authorized sports betting. The reasons are entirely about the Stitt-tribe relationship rather than economic or political resistance to sports betting in principle. Most observers expect that whenever Oklahoma's compact framework is updated to authorize sports betting, the model will be retail-first (sports books at tribal casinos) followed by mobile under a tribal-exclusivity structure broadly similar to the Connecticut or Arizona models.

Recent legislative attempts:

  • HB 1027 (2023) — sports betting authorization tied to a compact amendment. Died in committee.
  • SB 1434 (2024) — broader gaming-expansion package including sports betting. Withdrawn by sponsor after tribal opposition citing compact concerns.
  • HB 1101 (2025) — narrower retail-only sports betting authorization. Pending as of April 2026.

Revenue sharing and economic impact

Oklahoma tribal gaming generated an estimated $6.5 billion in Gross Gaming Revenue in calendar year 2025, second only to California. The state's exclusivity fees totaled approximately $203 million, with the large majority — by statutory designation — flowing to the Oklahoma Education Reform Revolving Fund.

Tribal gaming is a major employer in Oklahoma. By industry estimates, tribal casinos directly employ approximately 50,000 people across the state, making the sector one of Oklahoma's largest employers after healthcare, retail, and the energy sector. Indirect and induced employment adds another 30,000–40,000 jobs.

Beyond direct payments to the state, Oklahoma tribes have used gaming revenues to fund extensive own-government programs: Chickasaw Nation's healthcare network, Choctaw Nation's housing programs, Cherokee Nation's language preservation, Muscogee (Creek) Nation's higher-education scholarships, and dozens more. These programs are economically significant in their own right and also contribute to the region's economic resilience during energy-sector downturns.

Who regulates what

Three-layered regulation, like all tribal gaming, with Oklahoma-specific overlays:

  • Each tribe's Tribal Gaming Regulatory Authority (TGRA) — the day-to-day regulator with primary jurisdiction over the gaming operation. Each of Oklahoma's 33 gaming tribes maintains a separate TGRA.
  • National Indian Gaming Commission (NIGC) — federal regulator. Approves tribal gaming ordinances, audits MICS compliance, issues notices of violation.
  • Oklahoma Office of Management and Enterprise Services (OMES) — administers compact-defined exclusivity-fee payments and audit-verification on behalf of the state.
  • Oklahoma Horse Racing Commission — limited oversight role under the compact framework (the compact's auto-renewal clause is tied to continued state authorization of horse racing).
  • Oklahoma Indian Gaming Association (OIGA) — not a regulator, but the primary trade group and policy voice for Oklahoma's gaming tribes.

Recent Oklahoma tribal gaming news

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Frequently asked questions

How many tribal casinos are there in Oklahoma?

Oklahoma has approximately 135 tribal gaming facilities, more than any other U.S. state. They are operated by 33 of Oklahoma's 39 federally recognized tribes, ranging from the Chickasaw Nation's 23 properties down to single-location operators serving regional markets. The total includes all sizes — from destination resorts like WinStar World Casino to small community gaming centers attached to convenience stores.

What is the largest casino in Oklahoma?

WinStar World Casino and Resort in Thackerville, operated by the Chickasaw Nation, is the largest casino in the world by gaming floor square footage — approximately 600,000 square feet of gaming space organized into nine themed plazas (London, Paris, Madrid, Vienna, Beijing, Rome, Cairo, New York, Rio). The property includes more than 8,500 electronic gaming machines, 100+ table games, a 1,400-room hotel campus, a global event center, multiple restaurants, and major-headliner concert venues. The current $400M expansion is adding a 500-room tower and additional gaming and convention space, projected for completion in late 2027.

What is the Oklahoma compact dispute?

The 2004 model compact between Oklahoma tribes and the state was set to come up for renewal on January 1, 2020. Governor Kevin Stitt asserted the compact had expired; tribes argued it had automatically renewed under its own terms. A federal court ruled in July 2020 that the compact had auto-renewed; the Tenth Circuit affirmed in 2022; the Supreme Court declined cert in 2023. The compact remains in effect. The political relationship between the Governor's office and Oklahoma's tribes has remained strained, which has stalled progress on issues including sports-betting authorization.

Is sports betting legal in Oklahoma?

No. As of 2026, sports betting is not authorized in any form in Oklahoma. Multiple legislative attempts have failed, primarily because authorizing sports betting requires a compact amendment under IGRA and the Governor-tribe relationship has made such an amendment politically infeasible. Industry observers expect sports betting will eventually be authorized in Oklahoma — the political question is when.

What are "covered games" in Oklahoma?

The 2004 Oklahoma model compact defines covered games as electronic games of chance (electronic instant games, electronic bonanza-style bingo games, electronic amusement games) plus certain card games. The category is broader than traditional Class II bingo but legally distinct from unrestricted Class III. Most slot-machine-like devices on Oklahoma tribal gaming floors are covered games — they look and feel like slots but operate under the compact's specific definitions.

What percentage of revenue do Oklahoma tribes share with the state?

Under the 2004 compact, Oklahoma tribes pay exclusivity fees of 4% on the first $10 million of adjusted gross revenue from electronic games per fiscal year, 5% on the next $10 million, and 6% on amounts above $20 million. Table games are taxed at 10%. Total state revenue is approximately $200 million annually, with the vast majority directed to the Oklahoma Education Reform Revolving Fund.

Which Oklahoma tribes operate casinos?

33 of Oklahoma's 39 federally recognized tribes operate gaming facilities. The largest operators by GGR are: Chickasaw Nation, Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma, Cherokee Nation, Muscogee (Creek) Nation, and Osage Nation. The next tier includes Quapaw, Citizen Potawatomi, Comanche, Seminole Nation of Oklahoma, Otoe-Missouria, Kiowa, and Kaw Nation. The remaining 21 gaming tribes operate smaller properties typically serving local markets.

How does Oklahoma compare to other tribal gaming states?

Oklahoma is unique in three respects. Most tribes: 39 federally recognized tribes is the highest of any state. Most properties: 135 gaming facilities is also the highest. Most contentious compact relationship: the Stitt-era political conflict has no parallel in other tribal gaming states. By GGR, Oklahoma ranks second behind California ($9B) and ahead of Florida ($4.5B) and Connecticut ($1.8B). For more context, see our California guide and the complete Directory.

Sources & further reading

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