WinStar World Casino launches online gaming app in Oklahoma
WinStar World Casino Resort in Sackville, Oklahoma, which bills itself as “the world’s largest casino,” is expanding its on-site guest gaming operations.
WinStar officials announced this week that it is developing a new gaming app that will allow users to play real money games on their computer, phone or mobile device.
Oklahoma does not allow online casino gambling, but the tribe can offer Class I and Class II online gambling within its territory under the federal Indian Gaming Regulation Act (IGRA). In October 2022, the National Indian Gaming Association decided IGRA would allow federally recognized Indian tribes to conduct online gaming on their lands.
This means that when the WinStar gaming app debuts, it will only be available to guests of WinStar hotels. While interactive bingo is available, interactive slot machines and table games are not allowed.
WinStar is owned and operated by the Chickasaw Nation. In addition to its main casino, WinStar, the Oklahoma tribe operates 22 other casinos and gaming facilities across the state.
Providing Comfort to Guests
Scott Emerson, deputy secretary of operations for the Chickasaw Nation Department of Commerce, told The Oklahoman in an interview that the gaming app will provide convenient gambling services to local guests.
This is definitely new to us,” Emerson said.“It’s about creating choice [for guests]. "
Anaxi, Aristocrat Leisure's interactive gaming division, is working with the tribe to develop the gaming app, Emerson said. Aristocrat is a leading manufacturer of business-to-business slots and iGaming. Anaxi is the real money online gaming division of Aristocrat.
WinStar is a expansive campus located less than two miles north of the Oklahoma-Texas border. The hotel's nine casinos are known as "Game Plazas," and each has a unique urban theme. Locations include Beijing, Cairo, London, Madrid, New York, Paris, Rio, Rome and Vienna.
The casino totals nearly 400,000 square feet and features more than 10,000 slot machines and electronic games, as well as 100 gaming tables. The resort features more than 20 full-service restaurants in nine locations around the world.
Emerson said the app is being tested with a limited number of invited guests. WinStar will begin rolling out and marketing the app in early 2024.
The WinStar mobile gaming application uses geofencing technology from leading geolocation company GeoComply to prevent the application from allowing real money gaming when the person using the technology is not on WinStar property.
Latest Sports Betting
Many of the tribes operating Indian casinos in Oklahoma are seeking sports betting privileges to keep their resorts competitive with commercial and tribal gaming destinations in surrounding states. But tribal leaders and Gov. Kevin Stitt (R), a member of the Cherokee Nation, have struggled to find common ground on how to move forward.
Earlier this month, Stitt surprised the tribe by launching a sports betting package. The governor's suggestion that the state partner with commercial companies like DraftKings to get into the gambling industry with a single online sportsbook while only granting tribes the privilege of in-person sports betting quickly met with backlash.
Chickasaw Nation Commerce Secretary Dan Boren said it was critical that Stitt work directly with the tribe when considering expanding gambling operations, but tribal leaders said the governor has not yet done so.
“We believe it is important to work together on important and complex issues like this to develop agreements that respect the rights and responsibilities of federal, state and tribal governments,” Bolen said this month.
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Source: www.casino.org
