Sports wagering is now legal in Washington — here’s where you can place your bets
Sports wagering is now legal in Washington state and will soon be available exclusively at nine Tribes’ casinos.
Sixteen Tribes submitted amendments to include sports wagering in their gaming compacts that were approved by the Washington State Gambling Commission in June and were later signed by Gov. Inslee in July. The Tribes then submitted their compacts to the Department of the Interior, which published nine of the amendments into the Federal Register Wednesday, Sept. 1.
The amendments go into effect the same day, officially signaling that sports betting is legal in the state for the first time.
Here’s where sports wagering will soon be available in Washington state:
▪ The Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation’s 12 Tribes Resort Casino in Omak, Mill Bay Casino in Manson, and Coulee Dam Casino in Coulee Dam.
▪ The Cowlitz Tribe’s Ilani Casino Resort in Ridgefield.
▪ The Kalispel Tribe of Indians’ Northern Quest Resort and Casino in Airway Heights.
▪ Lummi Nation’s Silver Reef Casino in Ferndale.
▪ The Muckleshoot Indian Tribe’s Muckleshoot Casino Resort in Auburn.
▪ The Puyallup Tribe of Indians’ Emerald Queen Hotel & Casino in Tacoma and/or Fife.
▪ The Shoalwater Bay Tribe’s Shoalwater Bay Casino in Tokeland.
▪ The Suquamish Tribe’s Suquamish Clearwater Casino Resort in Suquamish.
▪ The Stillaguamish Tribe’s Angel of the Winds Casino in Arlington.
▪ The Squaxin Island Tribe’s Little Creek Casino and Resort in Shelton.
▪ The Spokane Tribe’s Spokane Tribe Casino in Airway Heights and/or the Chewelah Casino in Chewelah.
▪ The Tulalip Tribes’ Tulalip Resort Casino in Tulalip.
The Snoqualmie Casino — the closest Tribal casino to Seattle — has been gearing up to take the first sports bet, CEO and President Stanford Le said in an interview with McClatchy last week, before the compacts were published. Le said the casino will begin bringing in equipment and training employees once the compacts are approved and licenses are issued.
“A lot of hard work went into protecting the consumers, the casinos and the game integrity itself... by the Washington State Gaming Commission, Snoqualmie Gaming Commission and employees. We want to make sure it’s a good experience and gaming is fun and safe,” Le said.
The license for the casino’s provider, International Game Technology, has been approved by the Washington State Gambling Commission, which began the process of issuing licenses Monday, Aug. 30. The casino has yet to publish when sports wagering will begin, but its plans to build a sportsbook and a “sports betting 101” page have been available on its website for some time. Le promised the sportsbook will “open in style.”
The seven remaining Tribes — the Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation, Jamestown S’Klallam Tribe, Kalispel Tribe of Indians, Muckleshoot Indian Tribe, Shoalwater Bay Indian Tribe, Swinomish Indian Tribal Community and The Skokomish Indian Tribe — whose compacts were also signed by Gov. Inslee, are expected to be entered into the register within days.
Tribal gaming leaders from across the Northwest gathered at the Squaxin Island Tribe’s Little Creek Casino Resort for the annual Northwest Indian Gaming Conference and Expo Monday, Aug. 30, to Wednesday, Sept. 1.
“This marks a major milestone in Washington State’s Native American tribes’ efforts to strengthen the self-reliance of our tribal communities,” Executive Director of the Washington Indian Gaming Association Rebecca George said in a news release. “We now expect the availability of safe and regulated sports betting to begin at Tribal casinos across Washington State in the next few months.”
With sports betting being limited to only Tribal casinos, the legislature ensured that sports wagering revenue will stay within the state and Tribes’ local economy, the release read.
Washington state Tribal casinos provide more than 37,000 jobs and in 2017 yielded more than $5.3 billion in gross state product, according to the Washington Indian Gaming Association. Funds from sports betting and other Tribal casino operations support Tribes’ essential government services such as housing, healthcare, education, natural resources and community programs. The addition of sports wagering will add more revenue to Washington Tribes’ self-sufficiency efforts.
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Natasha Brennan covers Washington state tribes’ impact on our local communities, environment and politics, as well as traditions, culture and equity issues, for McClatchy media companies in Bellingham, Olympia, Tacoma and Tri-Cities.
She joins us in partnership with Report for America, which pays a portion of reporters’ salaries. You can help support this reporting at bellinghamherald.com/donate. Donations are tax-deductible through Journalism Funding Partners.
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This story was originally published September 1, 2021 at 2:30 PM.
