Indian casino gaming as we know it all began with the Seminole tribe of Florida. It wasn't very long ago at all.

The Seminoles first opened a high-stakes bingo hall on their reservation in 1979. And just like anything in the United States, the government in Florida quickly moved in, attempting to close down the operation.

However, the courts interceded and stopped the attempts by Florida to overthrow the bingo hall. But despite the early victories in court by the Seminole tribe, the legality of Indian casino gaming was still very much in doubt.

There have been a few landmark events which sparked a flame of revolution in the Indian casino gaming venture. One important case took place in California.
The case of California versus Cabazon Band of Mission Indians took place in 1987. It was ruled by the Supreme Court that Indian tribal governments could operate gaming institutions in their sovereignty, without the interference of outside state regulations. This of course entailed that gaming operations not be directly prohibited in that particular state. At the present date, only two states in the USA strictly prohibit gambling: Utah and Hawaii.

After the Supreme Court gave definitive legal rights to Indians, it was time for congress to act. Indian casino gaming was to be taking very seriously. Some say it was a way to partially make up for all the wrongs of our predecessors in this country. The way the Indians were treated was nothing less than appalling; the least the U.S. could do was allow them to operate gaming halls in their own country. In 1988, Congress passed the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act (IGRA) to set the rules and regulations for Indian casino gaming.

For starters, the IGRA separated Indian gaming into three separate classes. Class I gaming is defined strictly as traditional gaming, or social gaming which offers minimal prizes. There is no regulation at all for Class I gaming outside of the respective tribal governments. This leaves Indians to operate any sort of Class I gaming without any regulation whatsoever.

Class II gaming includes games of chance. Any game that isn't based on a skill-set is deemed a game of chance. For example, bingo and other similar games such as cards are included if they are played solely against other players and not against the house. However, slot machines are specifically prohibited from Class II gaming. Class II gaming is allowed on Indian reservations for as long as such activities are already permitted by the individual state.

The third class, Class III gaming, involves any games that are not included in classes I or II. This does include the aforementioned slot machines, and also blackjack, roulette, craps, etc. Indian tribal governments must first work out a compact with an individual state in order for a Class III gaming operation to be instituted.