Bill authorizes sports betting at tribal casinos in Washington

Monday, February 18, 2019

The Squaxin Island Tribe owns and operates the Little Creek Casino Resort in Shelton, Washington. Photo: I-5 Design & Manufacture

A bill introduced in the Washington Legislature authorizes tribes to engage in sports betting at their gaming facilities.

HB 1975 restricts such wagers to Indian Country. But tribes must negotiate sports betting through their Class III gaming compacts before they can join the budding industry.

“The bill doesn’t say very much, but the way federal Indian gaming law works is, just as long as the state permits something it opens the door for the tribes to operate based on what they negotiate," Chris Stearns, a citizen of the Navajo Nation who serves on the Washington State Gambling Commission, told The Seattle Times.

As a result, Stearns said it could be a couple of years before sports betting takes a hold in Washington following a landmark U.S. Supreme Court decision that opened the door for tribes and states to legalize such wagering Nationwide, tribes have been slow to join the industry.

HB 1975 had its first hearing before the House Committee on Commerce and Gaming on February 14.

Read More on the Story

Sports betting proposed for tribal casinos (The Omak-Okanogan County Chronicle February 18, 2019)
Tribal Sports Betting: Resolving Myriad Issues: Part II (Sports Handle February 18, 2019)
Tribal sports betting bill to be considered in Washington State (CalvinAyre.Com February 13, 2019)
Sports betting could be coming to Washington state – at tribal casinos (SeattlePI February 12, 2019)
Proposed bill would legalize sports gambling in Washington state’s tribal casinos (The Seattle Times February 11, 2019) $P

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