LOCAL NEWS
Two more tribes reach tentative agreement with state on sports betting
The Washington State Gambling Association has reached a tentative agreement with the Kalispel Tribe and the Snoqualmie Tribe to amend its Class III gaming compact to add sports wagering, marking the third and fourth tentative sports betting agreements in the state.
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According to a release from the WSGA, “this amendment allows the Tribe and State the ability to effectively address the Legislature’s primary sports wagering policy concerns now codified in the Gambling Act: licensing, agency funding, regulation, criminal enforcement, money laundering, sport integrity, and responsible and problem gambling.”
The Suquamish Tribe reached a tentative agreement earlier this week, and the Tulalip Tribe reached a tentative agreement in mid-April.
“This new compact will create jobs, add to the local economy, and fund important services for the community, and will build on our established, safe and successful system of tribal gaming in Washington State,” said Rebecca George, executive director of the Washington Indian Gaming Association. “We expect additional compacts to be announced soon, and by this fall we anticipate sports wagering will be available at tribal casinos across the state.”
In practice, the agreements would allow betting on professional and collegiate sports, as well as on Olympic games and e-sports competitions, provided it takes place on-site at authorized tribal casinos.
According to the WIGA, tribal governments in Washington rely on gaming revenue for essential government services allowing for self-sufficiency. It pays for housing, health care, education, natural resources, and jobs for the local communities.
There are state and federal procedures and approvals to go through before the contracts would take effect. That will include legislative hearings in the Senate labor committee, a vote from the state gambling commission in June 2021, subsequent approval from the U.S. Secretary of the Interior, and then final publishing in the Federal Register.
