Washington could be the first Western state to legalize sports betting this year. If so, it would join Nevada, Colorado and Oregon—and the wagers were already legal in Oregon, which was exempted from the federal sports betting ban that the U.S. Supreme Court ended in May 2018.
Although several bills are active, legislators in the Evergreen State appear more likely to adopt a bill that limits sports betting to tribes, despite the best efforts of the owner of the largest number of commercial casinos, and who wants a piece of the action.
The bill seen as having the best chance of survival is HB 2638, which the House Appropriations Committee held hearings on last week, along with dozens of other bills. Lawmakers must act quickly in order for the bill to be viable this session, which ends March 13.
The bill allows for wagering on professional and college sports, Olympic contests and esports but still bans any games involving Washington colleges and universities.
The committee voted 25-7 to advance the bill to the floor. Before the vote, tribal leaders spoke in favor of the bill, which they said would keep revenues from sportsbook in the state. They also argued that the bill would not be an large expansion of gaming and would be limited in scope because online sports betting wouldn’t be allowed.
Kevin Zeniskek, executive director of casino operations for the Northern Quest Casino, which is owned by the Kalispel tribe, testified, “Passing this bill will keep sports betting revenue in Washington state, and that is vastly different than other bills you’ve heard. It will help the tribes to continue to offer vital services and jobs.”
Puyallup Chairman David Bean told the lawmakers that Indian tribes have been “trusted partners” who offer a safe, fair and controlled environment. “The legislation benefits all of Washington because tribal gaming benefits tribal and non-tribal communities alike,” said Bean. “You know us. This is our shared homeland. We live here. We work here. We invest our resources here in Washington. And we ask that you adopt an approach to sports betting that maximizes the benefits to people and communities here in Washington.”
Maverick Gaming owner Eric Persson—who owns 19 of the total 44 card room casinos, the largest group of commercial casinos in the state—is backing a rival bill that is currently spinning its wheels in both the House and Senate. Persson is a Washington native but has been building a rapidly expanding empire of casinos that now includes four states. His bill would allow sports betting at a variety of venues, including tribal, racetracks and card room casinos. He claims it would bring in $50 million annually in state revenue. He also argues that his small, intimate card rooms don’t pose a threat to Indian casinos since they attract a different set of patrons.
During his testimony he mocked the idea that he is a carpetbagger. “It’s fun to hear that I am an out-of-state bogeyman,” he quipped.
Although he has reached out to tribes to try to bring them into the bill he backs that would include both tribes and commercial casinos, his own tribe, the Shoalwater Bay Tribe, has said that it backs HB 2638.
Maverick employee Vicki Christophersen also testified, and criticized the speed with which HB 2638 is being pushed—while arguing that only by offering an online sport betting element will illegal activities be discouraged. “This bill does nothing to eliminate the illicit market,” she said. “This bill is seeking to move really quickly without enough thought. This is an attempt to rush through an issue without a level playing field.”
Since Maverick began backing a rival bill, tribal lobbyists have spent more than $265,000 to push their favored bills. The Senate is giving precedence to the House in pushing its version of a bill, and won’t go forward with its own bill SB 6394 until the House version has been approved.
Senator Rebecca Saldana is optimistic about getting a bill to the governor’s desk this year. She told the Seattle Times, “Our intent was to have true companion bills all the way through. I think that ours is a mirror of theirs. And if it is a mirror, and we don’t do any more mucking around of their version, then it can go straight to the governor.’’
After the House vote its sponsor Rep. Strom Peterson told the Times, “I’m hoping to get this moving over to the Senate on a relatively fast timeline We’ll see if that happens, but with a very bi-partisan vote that we just had this evening, I think that helps.”
With the bipartisan support he has seen, Peterson calls the upcoming floor vote “a formality,” but added, “It’s a lift. I still need to talk to a lot of people about it and make everybody comfortable with it, because it is an expansion of gambling.”
The bill could reach Governor Jay Inslee by this spring.
Up until this point Washington has had among the most stringent gaming, or rather anti-gaming laws. For example, online gaming is a felony. Built-in procedural rules make it even harder with the requirement of a 60 percent supermajority to expand gaming.
There are 29 tribal casinos in Washington, with some of the largest being the Muckleshoot, Tulalip and Emerald Queen casinos.
