Casinos in Oklahoma
Casinos in Oklahoma arnt exactly well known in the gambling industry, however gambling enthusiasts living in that state don’t have all that many reasons to complain about the local regulations. The state is home to numerous Native American casinos, most of which are located in Tulsa, Ottawa, and Pottawatomie.
The available games range include video pull tabs, real slot machines, and high stakes bingo, among others. Oklahoma gamblers are free to wager on horse racing events, held at the local racetrack-casinos. Oklahoma also operates its own lottery since 2005, but unfortunately the state hasn’t regulated its online gambling market yet.
Oklahoma Gambling Laws
All the local gambling regulations are included in Oklahoma State Statutes 21-941 – 21-987. Participating in illegal gambling activities is considered a misdemeanor and might put you in jail for up to 30 days. As you’d expect operating an illegal gambling business is a serious offense and might result in multiple felony charges. Like many other states, Oklahoma doesn’t have any regulations referring specifically to online casino gaming.
There’s nothing to stop Oklahoma-based casino enthusiasts from joining offshore casino sites, such as Bovada, WinPalace, or Grand Parker. Please note that theoretically speaking, it would be possible for the authorities to argue that wagering on online casino games is already covered by the existing laws and constitutes illegal gambling. However, local law enforcement doesn’t seem interested in going after online casino customers – in fact, no players have been prosecuted for gambling over the internet so far.
Online Casinos
Oklahoma doesn’t have any online gambling regulations, which prevents local casinos from operating their own intrastate casino sites. Consequently, many Oklahoma-based i-gaming enthusiasts go for the aforementioned offshore casino sites, which are very popular all over the United States due to the amazing bonuses and games they offer. In fact, even players from Nevada and New Jersey seem to prefer offshore sites due to the fact that the amount of traffic they receive is significantly higher than in the case of casinos forced to operate on the fenced local markets.
Offshore Casino Sites That Accept Oklahoma Players
Virtually every offshore casino that accepts US-based players shouldn’t have any issues with allowing Oklahoma gambling enthusiasts to join the action. Most of those sites are powered by cutting-edge Real Time Gaming software, which means that the quality of most of the available games is comparable with what you’d expect from a top-notch Europe-facing site.
The biggest downside of playing on offshore sites instead of regulated intrastate casinos is the limited availability of some of the most convenient banking options, including e-wallet services. Oklahoma residents that opt to play on offshore sites are pretty much forced to cover their gambling expenses using their credit cards – the only viable alternative would be to rely on Western Union and MoneyGram cash transfer, but those tend to get rather expensive over time.
Withdrawals on the other hand are almost always handled via a wire transfer or a check by courier – and while those methods aren’t exactly fast, they guarantee that you’ll receive your winnings without any unfortunate mishaps along the way.
Developing Legal Scenarios
The absence of online gambling regulations seems to suit Oklahoma lawmakers, as they haven’t tried to alter the current laws ever since the Department of Justice announced that the Federal Wire Act of 1961 no longer applies to online casino games and intrastate online gambling became a possibility. Consequently, we definitely wouldn’t hold our breath waiting for a dedicated Oklahoma I-gaming Bill – in fact, it’s very unlikely for the current legal situation to change over the next few years.
