Casinos have more slot machines than all of the other games combined. But unlike many casino games, the slots still have some secrets.
Indian Spirit slot is an enticing game with a captivating theme. An extensive array of betting options makes the game appreciable among newbies and experienced players. Also known as bingo-based slots or bingo slot machines, Class 2 machines are created to replicate Class 3 slot machines in accordance with the regulatory guidelines. Indian Gaming Regulatory Act (IGRA) is issued by the Federal Government and clearly defines all machines, including class 1, class 2 and class 3 games. Indian Spirit slot is an enticing game with a captivating theme. An extensive array of betting options makes the game appreciable among newbies and experienced players. It's a mobile optimised slot machine, compatible with iPhones, iPads, and Android-powered devices, but also works perfectly well on desktop PC's or laptops. However you decide to access the Indian Gold video slot.
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Here's a list of 15 slot machine secrets the casinos don't want you to know about.
1. Slot placement isn't random
Although casinos would like you to think that everything on the floor is placed in a completely random way for ease of access and aesthetics, this certainly isn't the case.
Every square foot of the casino is analyzed, measured, and reported on by the casino gaming department. Traffic patterns are monitored and value is placed on certain areas of the casino to determine which slots or games to place in that area.
Usually, the highest yield slots are placed in the most popular locations in the casino. On top of this, the most popular slots are also placed in these areas to attract players into the casino to play.
So now you know that those slots that are most prominent and visible are the ones that make the most money for the casino, which means they're also the most disadvantageous for the player. Head towards the back of the casino next time you want to play slot machines to find a better value.
2. Some slots pay out more than others
Not all slot machines are created equal, and this means they all don't pay out at the same rate.
Generally speaking, video slots pay out less than classic reel slots. This is because reel slots are cheaper to run and maintain, and aren't as appealing to the player as the video slot.
Video slots are now extravagant and have pop-culture themes, which attracts more players. Because of this, the casinos can dial down the payout rate.
Alternatively, the classic slots aren't as popular or appealing anymore so the casinos will dial up the payout rate to attract more players, and subsequently keep you at the slot longer. I suggest you do a bit of searching on the internet about slot payout rates as this information is widely available, particularly for popular gaming locations.
3. The slots club doesn't exist to reward you
This is one of the biggest cons in the gambling industry. You know how the casinos promote themselves as giving back to the player and rewarding you for your play? This is all a lie.
Now, I'm not saying you won't get some free play credits, access to promotions, and other comps for being a part of the slot or player's club, but this isn't why it exists. It exists to provide the casino marketing department with player data so that they can attract and retain you as a customer.
Yes, that's right, all the free money and comps you get out of the casino are from the marketing department. They will analyze your play, movement, likes, dislikes, and betting patterns to determine how best to market themselves to you so that you return.
The slots club is a powerful marketing tool, and while it's always a good idea to join and use your card whenever you play, don't fool yourself into thinking that this is all done to reward you.
4. You can't win at slots in the long run
People do win at slots all the time. They have big wins and small wins; the problem is that on a long enough timeline it's impossible to win.
Slots are manufactured and programmed in a way to ensure that they only pay back a certain percentage of the money that's placed into them by players. Usually, this is in the range of 70-90% but it can be far worse or better depending on where you're playing.
No one would ever play if you didn't win from time to time, so this is also built into the machines. Some casinos don't want you to know this and in some US states, they don't even have to tell you what the payout rate is. Fortunately, there are many states that do provide it to players, and I highly recommend taking advantage of that information.
Although it's pretty common these days for players to know that you can't win in the long run, some still don't know, and those that are oblivious to this fact are loved by casinos.
5. Max betting is the best option
This one may seem counter-intuitive but it's true. On most slots, max betting activates all the bonuses and jackpots and increases your odds of getting lucky and winning, which makes it the best option for players.
Although it doesn't make too much of a difference, it still creates more favorable conditions for the player. The casinos don't want you to know this because they want you to bet small and more often at a worse payout rate, which makes them more money in the long run.
One thing you certainly don't want to do though is max-bet above your bankroll and burn through more money than you intended to. Playing more than you can afford to lose is playing right into the casino's hands. If you can't afford the max bet on a slot then drop down in denominations or move to a machine where the max bet is smaller and works within your bankroll.
6. Class 2 slots aren't really slots at all
Sometimes you'll come across slot machines that are classified as class 2 slots. These are usually found on native Indian reservations or racinos in the United States.
These aren't traditional slots like what you would find in Las Vegas. Vegas slots are Class 3 slots and are proper slot machine games.
Class 2 slots are actually pre-programmed bingo games which present a slot face for entertainment purposes. Class 3 slots are usually illegal in the jurisdictions that have these slots bingo games, so game manufacturers and casinos combined their forces to come up with this alternative.
Sometimes you'll see a small bingo card on the bottom corner of the screen which will straight away tell you that this is a class 2 slot machine. So, be warned, these machines are not slots at all and you'll be effectively playing computer bingo when you start spinning on these.
7. Video slots pay out less than classic slots
Big fancy video slots will almost always pay out less than classic reel slots. This is because of the fact they're more entertaining, draw more players and action, and cost the casinos a lot more to run and maintain.
These big machines often take up two to three times the amount of space compared to classic slots and tend to cost the casinos a lot more to keep them running. In order to maximize profits, the casinos will then dial down the payout rate on these machines so they still make enough money on them.
Immersive video slots are a huge moneymaker for the casino, so don't go in thinking you have the same chance of winning on these compared to traditional old school slots. If you're looking for better chances to win on slot machines, then stick to the classic slots.
8. Slots are completely random
Casinos don't want you to know this, but slot machines are completely random in nature. Although they are weighted to pay out at a certain rate, this is still in line with the randomness of results that a slot will produce.
Each spin is completely independent of the previous spin. As an example, if you were to win the jackpot on one spin, then the likelihood of winning the jackpot on the next spin is exactly the same. No previous events impact future events. This isn't how they work.
Casinos don't want you to know this because they want you to think slots are 'hot' or 'cold', because that will cloud your judgment in respect to how much you play and gamble. This works out better for them in the long run so they are happy for these myths to grow and spread.
9. All of your play is tracked
From the moment you sit down at a slot and enter your player card and cash, every movement you make is tracked automatically by the casino. Slot machines are now networked and have sophisticated hardware and software to track everything you do.
This information is collected, analyzed, and insight reports are developed and delivered to the casino marketing department so they can work out the best possible way to market their casino and slots to you so that you keep coming back and play more. If you don't want your play tracked then simply don't use your player's card, but then you won't get any casino comps.
In the near future, if it's not being used already, casino marketing departments will start using security infrastructure to monitor and track your play irrespective of whether you use your card or not. Facial recognition programs will detect you, associate you with a player's card or create a new player account and track everything you do on a video feed.
This is a bit scary and it shows the lengths casinos will go to. If you play online, everything is tracked under your player account, so it's easier for online casinos to monitor what you do in this respect.
10. Payout tickets are more likely to be put back into a machine
Over the past 20 years, casinos have slowly phased out cash payouts at slots. These days you'll likely receive a ticket when you cash out, which you then must take to a cash-out machine or the cage to exchange for cash.
While the casinos will claim this is for your convenience, one of the main reasons they've made this change is to disassociate you from the fact you're holding money. This is similar to what they do with chips on table games.
Psychological studies have proven that people are far more likely to gamble more with a ticket or chips, as opposed to cash. So don't be fooled into placing your ticket into another slot on the way to cashing out, they've done this on purpose. I'd recommend that you always cash the tickets out for cash every time, instead of keeping it for play later.
11. Slot arms don't exist as much anymore because they slow down play
Back in the day, pretty much every slot machine had an arm, or lever, that you pull to activate the spin. These days it's much harder to find machines that have these.
While there are a few reasons for this, the main reason and the one the casinos don't want you to know is because using a lever is much slower when compared to pressing a button. Casinos want you to be playing as quickly as possible when it comes to slots because the more you spin the more the odds move in their favor.
So by having buttons instead of levers the game moves a lot faster. Some may even say they've removed the lever so people don't refer to slot machines as one-armed bandits anymore, but that may just be here-say.
12. Games are designed to be played as fast as possible
As we touched on in the previous secret, casinos want you to play whatever game you're on as quickly as possible. While one of the main measurements on a slot is the time spent playing, they also want you to play as quickly as possible.
This increases the yield on the machine for the casino, meaning they make more money. Consider this, if you have a bank of widely popular slots which many people want to play, and it takes 20 seconds per spin, that's quite a lot of time.
If a spin takes five seconds then you're getting four times the amount of play on that machine which results in much more money passing through. So, all the time the casinos are trying to think of ways to make games happen much faster. They don't want you playing slowly, so make sure you take your time next time you sit down at a slot. After all, the more time you play the more entertainment value you get.
13. Slot sounds and graphics are designed to make you feel happy
One thing that casinos certainly don't want you to know about is the fact that slot machine manufacturers have teams of psychologists and researchers that provide advice on what sounds, colors, movements and graphics to use in games in order to make the player feel as happy as possible.
This is both good and bad. Firstly, it's good if you're playing for entertainment's sake and know your limits when it comes to how much money you're willing to play with. If this is the case then why not play a game that's designed to make you feel happy.
Secondly, it's bad when it comes to problem gamblers who don't know when to stop and are chasing that happy feeling that the games give them. So this is a two-way street; that's for sure. Casinos probably don't want you to know this because it isn't a great look.
14. Sometimes a win isn't a win
One recent trend on slots is to play a jingle and show an animation showing that a player has had a win; this used to be a good thing and it meant you were making a profit, but not so much these days.
Much to the ire of lawmakers and the regulators, slot machines now play this jingle and imply a win, even when the spin results in less money won than you actually wagered on that spin in the first place. So this is essentially a loss and it's trying to trick the player into thinking that they won.
Regulators are trying to have this outlawed but it will take some time. So, next time you're playing don't be fooled by the animation and sounds and the on-screen advice that says you've had a win. Make sure you check how much you ‘won' when compared to how much you bet, before you celebrate.
15. Major progressive jackpots are played across multiple venues
Have you ever walked past a progressive jackpot slot machine and stared in awe at the huge jackpot which is currently available and is running into the millions of dollars?
If so, then you may not be aware that these slots are actually linked nationwide and the jackpot is played across thousands and thousands of machines and the casinos actually have no part in this prize.
Casinos don't want you to know this of course; they want you to think that it's just that machine so that you sit down and play and spin away thinking that you're the only person who could possibly win that prize at that time.
These major progressive jackpot machines actually take a small cut from each bet you make and divert it to the major jackpot. So you should never play on one of these unless your ultimate goal is to win the life-changing money, and there's certainly nothing wrong with that.
Conclusion
Casinos are designed to make money just like any business. The slot machines are a big piece of the profit puzzle so the casinos do everything they can to make them more profitable.
Now that you know these 15 slot machine secrets the casinos don't want you to know you can gamble as an informed player. If you love slots there's no reason to stop playing, but you should know these secrets before you play again.
Introduction to American Indian Tribal Casinos
Thirty U.S. states offer tribal casinos. That number is climbing. To better understand them, here are eleven things you need to know about American Indian tribal casinos.
Further, tribal casinos in another two U.S. states are currently pending. Whether your state has tribal gaming or not, you've likely already had the opportunity to visit a tribal casino somewhere.
This article has the following sections:
- Introduction to American Indian Tribal Casinos
- 1. Which States have Tribal Gaming?
- 2. The Indian Gaming Regulatory Act
- 3. Why Federal Recognition Matters
- 4. Tribal-State Gaming Compacts
- 5. Who Operates a Tribal Casino?
- 6. Don't Cheat at a Tribal Casino
- 7. Tribal Use of Gaming Profits
- 8. Tribal Casinos Players Clubs
- 9. Class II vs. Class III Tribal Gaming
- 10. East Coast Versus West Coast
- 11. The Future of Tribal Gaming
- Summary of American Indian Tribal Casinos
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1. Which States Have Tribal Gaming?
I've reviewed tribal gaming in each state as part of my Online Resource, an ongoing weekly series. Out of 52 states, only 30 U.S. states currently have tribal casinos. Another two states have pending tribal casinos.
The states with tribal gaming along with their number of tribal casinos are: Alabama (3), Alaska (8), Arizona (25), California (66), Colorado (2), Connecticut (2), Florida (7), Idaho (7), Indiana (1), Iowa (3), Kansas (5), Louisiana (4), Maine (bingo only), Massachusetts (1 pending), Michigan (23), Minnesota (19), Mississippi (3), Montana (8), Nebraska (4), Nevada (2), New Mexico (21), New York (11), North Carolina (2), North Dakota (6), Oklahoma (more than 108), Oregon (9), South Dakota (11), Texas (2), Washington (30), and Virginia (1 pending).
Oklahoma has the highest number of tribal casinos. In my state-by-state article on Oklahoma slots, I list the 108 largest tribal casinos. Oklahoma has many other convenience stores and truck stops which identify themselves as casinos.
With 66 sites, California has the second highest number of tribal casinos of any U.S. state. It has only tribal casinos and no non-tribal commercial casinos.
Massachusetts and Virginia both have their first tribal casino pending for various reasons, either legal issues or searching for a suitable site. Alaska and Maine have only tribal bingo halls.
2. The Indian Gaming Regulatory Act
In 1988, the U.S. Congress established the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act (IGRA). This federal law provides tribes and states with a legal framework to develop tribal gaming. It is the reason the U.S. has tribal casinos with Class III games.
American Indian cultures have always included gambling. Before the IGRA, and a driving force behind establishing it, tribes began to generate gaming revenue and profit. This tribal gaming mostly began with tribes opening bingo halls.
However, such swift growth led to abuses. When states began lobbying the U.S. Congress to regulate tribal gaming, after more than a few compromises the IRGA was born. President Ronald Reagan signed it into law on October 18, 1988.
This federal law intents to:
- Regulate tribal gaming
- Protect tribal gaming as a means of generating revenue
- Encourage economic development of the tribes
- Protect against negative influences such as organized crime
3. Why Federal Recognition Matters
The U.S. Constitution gives the federal government the right to interact with American Indian tribes. However, 1913 U.S. Supreme Court and 1988 U.S. Supreme Court decisions provided additional clarity, which also helped lead to the establishment of the IGRA.
However, what establishes that a tribal community is, in fact, an American Indian tribe? Who decides? How do they choose? Perhaps more importantly, how can this process be consistent? Even today, this decision-making is fraught with difficulties.
Federal recognition of an American Indian tribe is a process owned by the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) within the U.S. Department of the Interior. The BIA sets the criteria for federal recognition of tribes. Tribal communities petition for federal recognition through the BIA's Office of Federal Acknowledgment (OFA) which carefully researches each request for a recommendation.
Once federally recognized, the federal government acknowledges a tribe's right of self-government while supporting its tribal sovereignty and self-determination. Limitations on these rights are the same as those for states.
There are currently 573 bands and tribes recognized by the federal government as American Indian. The last increase in the number of tribes occurred in early 2018 when six new tribes received federal recognition. Only federally-recognized tribes may use the IGRA to negotiate a tribal-state gaming compact with their state.
4. Tribal-State Gaming Compacts
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A compact is a negotiated agreement between two legal entities. In this case, a federally-recognized tribe and the state in which it resides negotiate a tribal-state gaming compact. Once settled, the U.S. Department of the Interior must approve all compacts.
However, thanks to the IGRA, not all tribal casinos need a gaming compact. The forest game free. Why? Because it depends on the type of gaming offered. Or, more accurately, its classification.
The IGRA defined gaming classifications which, as a federal law, makes these commonly held definitions for all U.S. states. For more on gaming classifications, see Getting to Know Legal Gaming Classifications. In brief,
- Class I: Tribal ceremonies
- Class II: Competition-based gaming such as bingo
- Class III: Slot machines and table games
Class III tribal gaming requires a tribal-state gaming compact. Class I tribal ceremonies do not. But, Class II games may require a gaming compact, depending on the state. Tribal compacts are the result of often lengthy negotiations, after all.
The negotiations include whether non-tribal gaming exists in the state. If not, compact talks can be an uphill battle. It's a lot more work to introduce gaming to a state.
If non-tribal gaming exists, tribes may only negotiate for those Class III games already approved by the state at non-tribal casinos. Overcoming this limitation can be lots of work. Overcoming it isn't common.
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If tribal gaming is coming to your state, and you're wondering what kind of games you'll find, consider what other gaming already exists in your state. That's most likely what you'll get.
In part, compact negotiations include a desire by the state to protect the income of existing non-tribal casinos. These can be lobbying efforts by those casinos or just protecting state income taxes from gaming revenue.
As with Virginia tribal gaming efforts, for example, out-of-state lobbying efforts have so far prevented Virginia's first tribal casino. MGM Resorts International is making every effort to protect the gaming income of MGM National Harbor, just across the state line in Maryland.
5. Who Operates a Tribal Casino?
The owner of each tribal casino is one or more federally-recognized American Indian tribe, band, or pueblo. But, that's the owner. Who operates the casino?
Sometimes, a tribe decides to let a professional casino operator run their tribal casino. There are solid business reasons to take this approach. While the casino operator takes a cut of revenue, a professionally run casino can generate quite a bit more profit to share.
For instance, Harrah's operates both tribal casinos in North Carolina. The Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians owns both tribal casinos. But, the tribe has contracted Harrah's, a division of Caesars Entertainment, to operate it for them.
https://space-soft.mystrikingly.com/blog/edit-videos-together-on-mac. Part of that agreement between the tribe and Caesars included allowing Harrah's to have its name included in the name of the casinos:
- Harrah's Cherokee in Cherokee situated 50 miles west of Ashville
- Harrah's Cherokee Valley River in Murphy situated 109 miles southwest of Ashville
Caesars Entertainment is one of the largest casino operator conglomerates in the world, along with MGM Resorts International. For instance, they own and operate most casinos on the Las Vegas strip.
A substantial business advantage with hiring such a major casino operator isn't just their knowledge, experience, and professionalism. These operators also have assets to share.
All casinos have a players' reward club. It may be small or large, but they all have one. But, guests of tribal casinos operated by Harrah's get to join the Caesars Rewards players' club. American Indian tribal casinos operated by MGM get to join M life rewards.
A Caesars Reward club card holder gets more and more interesting complimentary gifts than a tribal casino could provide alone. Put another way, that widely available players' club program is of value to guests at tribal casinos.
It's a win-win scenario for both the tribe and the casino operator. With it, the tribe gains credibility and gives value to their guests. For the casino operator, it's an inexpensive perk. Why?
Because a significant casino operator does not have to go through the expense of setting up a rewards club program. For example, there's hardly any additional cost to adding a few thousand members through a casino or two in North Carolina. After all, their rewards program already has millions of members.
A significant casino operator need not be a non-tribal organization. Mohegan Gaming and Entertainment (MGE) is a fast-growing U.S. and international casino operator managed by the Mohegan Tribe. The eight casinos MGE operates are:
- Casino Niagara in Niagara Falls, Ontario, Canada
- Ilani in Ridgefield, Washington
- Inspire Entertainment Resort in Incheon, South Korea
- Mohegan Sun in Uncasville, Connecticut
- Mohegan Sun Pocono in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania
- Paragon Casino Resort in Marksville, Louisiana
- Fallsview Casino Resort in Niagara Falls, Ontario, Canada
- Resorts Casino Hotel in Atlantic City, New Jersey
6. Don't Cheat at a Tribal Casino
As already mentioned, federally-recognized American Indian tribes have:
- The right of self-determination
- Tribal sovereignty supported by the federal government
In general, this means they have tribal laws, courts, and police. If caught cheating at a tribal casino, you would expect to go to jail. But, would you expect tribal jail? Further, what are your expectations regarding tribal courts?
What is mac operating system. Robert Nersesian has written an excellent book, The Law for Gamblers: A Legal Guide to the Casino Environment. https://funny-free.mystrikingly.com/blog/dice-board-games-list. I recommend to you his excellent Chapter 8 entitled Indian Gaming: OMG, WTF. It's a real eye-opener.
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If you get in legal trouble at a tribal casino, reach out to Robert Nersesian for legal help. I fully disclose that I am an Amazon Affiliate. Meaning, using the link above means I earn a bit of income. However, Mr. Nersesian has not paid me to promote him. I just like his work.
What might happen if someone cheats at a tribal casino? Naturally, the tribal police will take you to tribal jail. If you are not a member of the tribe, you next discover you have no constitutional rights to due process or other protections.
Perhaps you leisurely read through the above section on the IGRA and the rights given to federally-recognized tribes. If you gamble at tribal casinos, maybe you should reread those a little more closely. Just sayin'.
My best advice is this: Don't cheat at a tribal casino. Don't even give the appearance of cheating at a tribal casino. If you do either, it won't go well for you.
7. Tribal Use of Gaming Profits
In 1988, the U.S. Congress enacted the IGRA to support tribal economic development including:
- Tribal government operations
- Infrastructure
- Social services and financial programs
- Tribal enterprises
- Charitable causes
- Contract local government services, if desired
To understand actual use of tribal gaming profits, consider each state having a non-tribal gaming industry. How well do those states use their non-tribal gaming profits? Well, it depends on the state.
Not all states are doing particularly well with their use of non-tribal gaming revenue. Some are an excellent example to other states. Others, not so much. The care and quality of state gaming regulations, or lack of care and quality, determines their success.
There are only 56 U.S. states, territories, and the federal district, each of which is a U.S. gaming jurisdiction. In my non-legal opinion, even Utah is a U.S. gaming jurisdiction. Why? Because Utah has at least one state gaming regulation: All forms of gambling are illegal.
When it comes to using gaming profits, American Indian tribes are like U.S. states. It depends. However, there are ten times more federally recognized tribes than U.S. states.
Under the IGRA, 573 bands and tribes with federal recognition unite at a national level. This federal law is common amongst all of them in terms of supporting tribal economic development. There is no such common law for state gaming regulations.
Because of common federal law, perhaps there is more abuse among the states than across ten times as many tribes. Perhaps. The difficulty is the considerable investment needed to know the differences.
For example, it took me just over a year to write my state-by-state online resource for slots players. Each week, I wrote an article about one U.S. state, territory, or the federal district. For the complete set, it took me 56 weeks to write 56 articles.
Imagine how long it would take an individual to research and write 573 articles on each federally recognized tribe. At a rate of one piece per week, such a project would take ten years. The start of the series would be ten years out of date once completed.
However, larger organizations or federal and state governments have the resources, personnel, and funding to take on such a project. For example, the American Gaming Association (AGA) contracted an economic study of tribal gaming. See The Economic Impact of Tribal Gaming: A State-by-State Analysis from September 2017.
This 21-page report is well worth reading. It also makes several interesting observations. Here are just a few:
- Tribal gaming has grown 300x since the passing of the IGRA in 1988
- Tribal gaming generates over 44% of all U.S. gaming revenue
- Seven of the top 10 state gaming revenues include tribal gaming
8. Tribal Casinos Players Clubs
Have you identified your gambling goal as earning complimentary gifts? It's one possible gambling goal for slot machine players. Almost entirely, players receive comps through casino rewards programs.
By necessity, a small tribal casino has a small casino rewards program. However, an American Indian tribal casino operated by a significant corporation often comes with its own players' club. Depending on the comps you are looking to earn, either scenario has its pros and cons.
A small casino rewards program at your local tribal casino focuses on the local area. The local audience is well known. That knowledge is its strength. To them, it's personal.
An extensive casino rewards program of a major casino operator has difficulty being personal. However, you can potentially earn travel comps from them to any of their other properties. For example, they may operate half the casinos on the Las Vegas strip.
Casino rewards programs are about establishing and maintain customer loyalty. A small casino rewards program tries to partner with other casinos, perhaps offering a bus trip across the state to a nearby casino.
A national rewards program tries to take away the competitive advantage of small rewards programs. One way to do this is to establish a team of hosts at each casino where they operate. These hosts learn what the patrons of that casino want.
Both size rewards programs do these things with somewhat limited success. Isolated reservations are where most American Indian tribal casinos are located. Being remote makes it difficult to work with other casinos as none are nearby.
On the other hand, the host of a casino operated by a major corporation can have 900 patrons they're trying to get to know on a personal level. That's a lot of people to get to know. These hosts take a lot of detailed notes.
Earning complimentary gifts is what happens when you play at a casino when using their rewards program card. Anyone can earn a comp, sometimes by merely signing up for the program.
But, some slot machine players have identified earning complimentary gifts as their primary gambling goal. For them, it's not about money or entertainment. It's about earning comps, which means players need a rewards program with which they can work.
The loyalty programs at tribal casinos vary in size and what they have to offer. Bigger is not always better. If you want to earn comps, what comps do you want to receive?
At American Indian tribal casinos, the player desirability of small or large rewards programs depends on you. It depends on what you want.
Do you want a new outdoor grill? Sure, either size club will provide one if you earn it. How about earning travel comps? Well, that depends on where they can send you as well as if you care to go there. Don't even get me started on winning a car at a casino.
9. Class II vs. Class III Tribal Gaming
The IGRA is a federal law. It defined gaming classifications for all U.S. states, territories, and the federal district. Therefore, these classifications are legal definitions. Few other legal gambling terms are standard across the U.S.
As a reminder, Class I gaming is tribal ceremonies. Class II gaming is competition-style games. Class III gaming is everything else.
If you are visiting a tribal casino, you'll want to know in advance if they are offering Class II or Class III gaming. Why? Because it can be difficult to tell which is which when sitting down at a slot machine.
For a Class II slot machine, the spinning reels are often for entertainment purposes only. This feature means it can be difficult to distinguish from a Class III slot machine. Some tribal casinos have both types.
But, does it matter if you're playing a Class II or Class III slot machine? Here's why it matters: the gaming regulations are different. For instance, the Class III machine might have a minimum payout return limit defined in the tribal compact. The Class II machine next to it usually doesn't.
Another difference is more practical. Class II machines are competition-based. One way a slot machine becomes competitive is by including a gameplay decision for the player.
Another way to make a slot machine competitive doesn't involve a gameplay decision. Instead, all the Class II slot machines on the casino floor may be playing a form of bingo. It is not at all evident if this is happening.
If you're playing slots at American Indian tribal casinos, in my opinion, you need to know what game you're playing. In terms of card table games, do you know how to win if you're holding cards? No.
To win at table card games, you also need the game rules. You need to know what card game you're playing.
The same is true with slot machines at American Indian tribal casinos. Perhaps you're enjoying an excellent game of Class II bingo on an electronic gaming machine.
Or, maybe you have more legal protections on the Class III machine next to a bingo machine. Know that there's a difference in ways that likely matter to you.
10. East Coast Versus West Coast
Is there a difference between American Indian tribal casinos based on where they are in the U.S.? Because the IGRA is a federal law, there are fewer differences from coast-to-coast than you might expect.
However, there's still a substantial difference. This is history-based. Many of the tribes found in Oklahoma did not originate in that state or even that region of the country.
The ancestral home of many tribes currently federally recognized as tribal communities in Oklahoma was much nearer to the east coast of the U.S. There's no way not to recognize that eastern tribes moved west, often forcibly. Or, through famine or otherwise, the tribes died out literally or figuratively.
Today, there are few American Indian tribes near the east coast of the U.S. Those that remain are, shall we say, durable. And, that durability includes tribal gaming.
Mohegan Gaming & Entertainment (MGE) is a significant casino operator operated by the Mohegan Tribe of Connecticut. As a demonstration of its success, MGE recently won a contract with the gaming jurisdiction crown agency of Ontario. Besides its other casino properties, MGE now operates the two Canadian casinos near Niagara Falls.
On the other hand, California has the second most casinos in the U.S. Further, California has tribal casinos only.
Near the middle of the continental U.S. is Oklahoma. Not only does it have the largest population of American Indians when compared to any other U.S. state, but it also has the highest number of casinos. Like California, Oklahoma has tribal casinos only.
11. The Future of Tribal Gaming
As of September 2017, tribal gaming revenue accounts for over 44% of all gaming revenue in the U.S. It's grown 300x since 1988. In early 2018, six more tribes became federally recognized.
All signs seem to indicate that the future of tribal gaming is bright. Tribal casinos are opening in many states right alongside non-tribal casinos during the last few years. As I have mentioned elsewhere, it is a dynamic time of change in the U.S. gaming industry.
There's also a bit of synergy worth mentioning regarding a sort of tension within a state's gaming industry. The IGRA is a federal law designed to support tribes. If a state allows casino gambling and has a federally recognized tribe, the tribe will most likely attempt to negotiate a tribal-state compact.
It is nearly impossible to prevent tribal casinos if a state does not entirely prohibit gambling, perhaps by the state constitution. If bingo is legal, for example, then tribal casinos can offer Class II competition slot machines without a tribal-state compact.
The state may object. There may be court injunctions filed based on pertinent legal precedents, as Texas did for years. But, it is possible because the IGRA legally provides tribes that opportunity.
My points here are this: As non-tribal gaming grows within a state, so will tribal gaming if that state has a federally recognized tribe. And, if the tribe opens a Class II tribal casino or negotiates a Class III tribal-state compact, then non-tribal casinos will want to open.
Why? Because it's all about market share. If tribal casinos become the go-to place for the state's gamblers, the market can quickly become saturated. Other casinos might not survive if they try to open in a state with a mature gaming industry. Iowa is an excellent example of this scenario in action.
Summary of American Indian Tribal Casinos
Tribal gaming is involved, even sophisticated, in terms of legal, regulatory, political, and economic factors. Consequently, it is one of the least understood segments of the U.S. gaming industry.
I hope that this summary article on American Indian tribal casinos will help slot machine casino gamblers better understand the tribal casinos they visit.
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