Charts show the growth of tribal gaming in Washington. Source: Net Receipts, Washington State Gambling Commission
The Washington State Gambling Commission is laying off more employees as revenues from non-Indian facilities continue to drop. The commission has eliminated about 23 percent of its workforce in the last decade, The Olympian reports. Layoff notices just went out to more than a tenth of the remaining staff, the paper said. The changes come as non-Indian pull tab operators and non-Indian card clubs send fewer dollars to the state. Between 2003 and 2013, pull tab revenue fell nearly 52 percent while card club revenue fell about 14 percent, according to a commission report. “We cannot compete with the tribal gaming,” the owner of a bar that offers pull tabs told the paper. At the same time, tribal gaming continues to grow. Between 2003 and 2013, tribal revenues grew a whopping 214 percent, according to the report. In 2013, tribal receipts totaled $2.225 billion. That represented 80 percent of the state's total gaming market. Tribes reimburse the state for its regulatory costs, an amount that is increasing, the Olympian reported. But that money apparently can't be used for other activities at the commission. “We have this statewide mission we need to continue to carry out, and we want to be in the best position to do what the Legislature and citizens expect us to do," Amy Hunter, the head of the commission’s communications and legal division, told the paper. The commission is led by five members. The chairman is Chris Stearns, a member of the Navajo Nation who is the first Native American in the post. The commission chooses a director to run the agency and the staff. Get the Story:
As tribal gaming booms, fewer gamblers pick up pull tabs (The Olympian 11/26)
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