It’s been a year since the U.S. Supreme Court lifted the federal ban on sports betting. Eight states so far have legalized it. Others are prepared to do the same. Washington doesn’t seem like it will join them any time soon.
Three bills were presented that would have allowed wagering on professional and collegiate sports. None advanced very far.
The bill that got the most press, HB 1975, would have limited sports betting to Indian casinos. It would have been enabled “geo-fencing,” technology that allows wagers on a mobile app that would only work in the casino. Revenues would not be taxed by the state.
That earned the opposition of the state’s 45 card rooms, sports bars and restaurants, who all want a place at the table.
Dolores Chiechi, executive director of the Recreational Gaming Association of Washington, commented, “We certainly would be excited about having a new activity to offer our patrons. While we don’t see it as a huge windfall of extra revenue, it certainly might keep someone in our building to have a burger and gather their friends to watch a game, and then possibly sit at the table and play a $20 round of cards.”
The Washington Horse Racing Commission also opposed the bill because they believe racetracks, such as the Emerald Downs Racetrack & Casino should be allowed to participate. The commission pointed out that racetracks also support breeding farms, as do farmers who grow hay and oats.
“As these other forms of gaming have come in — the Lottery, the tribal casinos, the house-banked card rooms — we’ve never got any consideration. It’s an agricultural industry, not just a wagering industry,” said a spokesman for the commission.
Earlier this year Zachary LIdahl of the Washington Hospitality Association testified at a committee hearing: “We believe excluding these businesses from participating in sports wagering will offer an unfair advantage to those who can.”
Washington tribes, as are many tribes all over the country, taking the position that sports betting should be a monopoly of tribal gaming. They argue that they use the money to provide services to their members, including college education and eldercare.
William Iyall, chairman of the Cowlitz Indian Tribe, which operates the Ilani Casino Resort declared, “We are now able to fulfill many of the broken promises made through history to Indian tribes for the loss of our land and our resources.”
David Bean, vice chairman of the Puyallup Tribe, views sports betting as an amenity at the Emerald Queen Casino in Tacoma. He told CDC Gaming Reports, “It will be a first-class experience for our customers. I’ve walked by many of those sports books in Vegas, and they roll it out for those gamers; comfortable seating, food is brought right to them, big-screen TVs.”
Rep. Eric Pettigrew, who sponsored one of the bills that failed to reach the floor, speculates that sports betting is such a new concept that it requires many hours of debate and discussion over many sessions. He said he will try again next year.
Washington’s legislature meets over other year, and the legislative session only lasts 60 days, which makes it hard to pass a bill without a lot of advance preparation.
House Commerce & Gaming Committee Vice Chairman Kristine Reeves told CDC Gaming Reports, “We don’t fully understand the economic impact or opportunity from sports betting. I think it is going to be a conversation we continue to have for the next session or more. For me, it’s, `What are other states doing and how do we make sure we don’t lose out on this opportunity as other states advance this?’”
If the legislative does eventually act, it will require negotiating new state tribal gaming compacts with Washington’s 29 federally-recognized tribes.
Technically, the state doesn’t have to legalize sports betting, since it was one of the four states that were exempted from the federal ban of 1992. It would only have to vote to “expand” the type of betting allowed.
In the 1970s the legislature passed sports pool boards where those offering the boards can charge as much as a dollar for a single game. Licenses are not required, so no one knows to what extent such games take place.
Bracket pools and daily fantasy sports are illegal in the state.
