Sports betting should stay exclusive to Washington tribes. We’ve earned your trust
Last year, after careful deliberation, our state lawmakers — on an overwhelmingly bipartisan basis — passed legislation that allows legal sports betting but limits it to tribal casinos.
One deep-pocketed, non-tribal private gambling company continues to spend heavily trying to expand gambling at neighborhood card rooms and mini-casinos.
And on April 10 the News Tribune published an editorial (“A big gamble for Washington: Help nontribal cardrooms survive or let them die?”) that supported allowing sports betting at those venues as one option to make them more competitive.
Nonetheless, the Legislature’s decision in 2020 remains the right approach.
Focusing our gaming activities at tribal casinos protects public safety. It controls access, ensures careful regulation of sports betting, and directs revenues to fund much-needed housing, education, health and human services to some of the poorest and most historically disadvantaged communities in our state.
It’s important to understand that our current system of gaming in Washington has been carefully developed over nearly three decades of close partnership between tribes and our state government.
It’s a proven success, allowing responsible adults to choose to visit a tribal casino to engage in gaming activities, while keeping most gaming activity away from our neighborhoods.
It’s no secret that tribal gaming benefits disadvantaged tribal communities. Tribal gaming dollars are government dollars, spent for community benefit.
Here in Pierce County, the Puyallup Tribe’s gaming revenues fund an important range of services including programs that: care for and house elders and others; protect those who have been victims of abuse; provide services to family and youth; create educational opportunities and build a strong future workforce.
These revenues also steward the environment; protect natural resources; provide vital healthcare services to our small, highly vulnerable communities; and keep the Tribe’s culture, language and history alive.
The upsides of tribal gaming revenues don’t stop at the borders of the reservation. Far from it. Tribal governments support nearly 60,000 jobs across Washington state, with nearly 70 percent of those jobs held by non-tribal members.
The jobs that tribes offer include advancement opportunities and $1.5 billion in wages and benefits.
The Puyallup Tribe is one of the top ten employers in Pierce County, with more than 4,000 direct employees. And the I-5 Tacoma Emerald Queen Casino that opened in May 2020 is projected to have a whopping $1.5 billion economic impact over the next decade alone.
Tribal enterprises provide the opportunity to earn a living wage, to build a sustainable and rewarding career path, and to raise thousands of people out of the trap of poverty.
Statewide, the impacts of tribal gaming generate over $722 million in state and local tax revenue. Tribes annually contribute more than $25 million to charities and human services programs – for example, the Puyallup Tribe makes large donations to four food banks operating in Pierce County – and more than $19 million to fund problem gambling programs.
A recent study showed that, overall, tribal gaming contributes $5.7 billion to the state’s economy. Dollars spent at tribal casinos stay in Washington state.
In comparison, the state’s own fiscal analysis shows that allowing sports betting at neighborhood card rooms would generate less than $5 million annually in state revenues, while tens of millions of dollars that are currently spent in Washington would be siphoned off to the wealthy, out-of-state hedge fund investors backing the gambling company that has recently bought up many of the state’s card rooms.
Tribes in Washington have an outstanding track record of partnership with the state to provide safe, responsible and carefully regulated gaming. We are proud of our commitment to and success at using gaming revenues to improve the lives of hundreds of thousands of Washingtonians.
People in Washington understand this. Recent public opinion research shows overwhelming public support for the current system of tribal gaming.
More than 70 percent of the public supports gaming at tribal casinos, and more than 80 percent say we already have either enough or too many gaming establishments and gambling opportunities. The public understands that the tribal gaming system works well, and that it strikes the right balance.
The state Legislature, tribes in Washington and the public all agree that our current system is doing just fine, and sports betting at tribal casinos is a limited and reasonable addition that makes sense.
The public can rest assured that with tribal and state governments overseeing this activity, sports betting will be handled safely and responsibly.
David Z. Bean is an elected member of the Puyallup Tribal Council and vice chairman of the National Indian Gaming Association. Rebecca George is an enrolled member of the Port Gamble S’Klallam Tribe and executive director of the Washington Indian Gaming Association.
This story was originally published May 7, 2021 at 1:30 PM.