Choctaw Nation takes crypto movement to gaming

Written By: Rachael Schuit 

Native Commerce News is sponsored by the American Indian Chamber of Commerce of Oklahoma (AICCO), dedicated to expanding Indian Country commerce across the globe. 

(CHOCTAW RESERVATION) Cryptocurrency lovers are now able to utilize crypto and digital assets as a source of cash flow when gaming at Choctaw Casino, the first casino where guests can use those options.

According to the 2025 Cryptocurrency Adoption and Consumer Sentiment Report by Security.org, 28 percent of American adults own cryptocurrencies and 67 percent of current owners plan to buy more in 2025. 

“It’s nice to offer something that is new for customers,” said Thomas McDonald, the Senior Director of Cage and Credit at Choctaw Casinos and Resorts. “It’s cool to have something that’s innovative and new and fresh in the industry.”

McDonald says Everi, the financial technology provider for the Casino, first brought up the idea of offering a cryptocurrency option three years ago. Choctaw Casino then started talking with Bitline, a company that handles casino transactions with cryptocurrency about what that process would be like. 

“We have a really good feeder market,” said McDonald. “The research they had done showed that there was a lot of crypto engagement here in this area so they thought we’d be a really good partner to work with on it.”

McDonald says the casino plans to market the option more in the coming months, particularly to players looking to play with higher amounts of money. 

If you are one of those players interested in using cryptocurrency to play, you can fill out an application with bitline.io. 

“They do a lot of scanning of the crypto cause you can really see from the birth of a coin to current where it’s been if it’s been in somewhere suspicious, involved in terrorism, it gets flagged,” said McDonald. 

Once the scanning system determines the crypto is acceptable, the player goes to a cage cashier to initiate the transaction through their Bitline application. Players are then given a voucher to play slots or table games. 

McDonald says because Bitline and Everi handle the management of the cryptocurrency, the process is easy for the casino. 

“The crypto never touches our hands,” said McDonald. “We’re not involved in it. I’m not worried about what the prices are so we don’t need any reserves, we don’t have wallets. We don’t take custody of any cryptocurrency. That’s between Bitline and Everi, that’s between them so it’s a perfect opportunity for us to just add an additional financial service without having to get too deep into something brand new.”

More information about utilizing Cryptocurrency at Choctaw Casino can be found here.