{"id":131266,"date":"2020-03-26T17:36:21","date_gmt":"2020-03-27T00:36:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/?p=131266"},"modified":"2020-03-26T18:27:32","modified_gmt":"2020-03-27T01:27:32","slug":"washington-sports-betting-bill-becomes-law-amid-game-drought","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/washington-sports-betting-bill-becomes-law-amid-game-drought\/","title":{"rendered":"Washington Sports Betting Bill Becomes Law Amid Game Drought, Legal Challenge Looms"},"content":{"rendered":"

Washington State Gov. Jay Inslee on Wednesday signed into law a controversial bill<\/a> that legalizes sports betting at tribal casinos.<\/p>\n

\"Washington
Gov. Jay Inslee put pen to paper Wednesday, but the state\u2019s commercial gaming industry claims the tribal-only Washington sports betting is unconstitutional. (Image: PBS)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

In doing so, Washington became the first state this year to authorize wagering on sporting events. But it does so at a time when there are precious few sporting events to wager on.<\/p>\n

Betting companies are beginning to feel the pinch because of the coronavirus crisis. With very little indication of when the sporting calendar will return to normal, the state\u2019s 29 tribal casinos will be in little hurry to plow money into launching sports books.<\/p>\n

This is in stark contrast to states that passed sports betting bills in 2018 and 2019, where, in many cases, there was a rush to get the market running in time for the NFL season or March Madness.<\/p>\n

Casinos Cut Down by Virus <\/strong><\/h2>\n

In the very early days of the US coronavirus outbreak, Washington was the worst-hit state, and tribal casinos are currently shuttered.<\/p>\n

\u201cTribal communities and governments are currently dealing with the devastating impacts of the coronavirus pandemic, with many tribal governments focusing on essential services and shutting down business activities such as casinos,\u201d said Rebecca Kaldor,\u00a0executive director of the Washington Indian Gaming Association\u00a0(WIGA).<\/p>\n

As we recover from this crisis, the addition of this amenity will help tribal governments fund the essential services their members will need to get back up on their feet,\u201d Kaldor added.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

She praised the governor for \u201cjoining bipartisan majorities in the legislature to pass this careful and thoughtful approach to sports betting.\u201d<\/p>\n

Felony Betting<\/strong><\/h2>\n

When the tribes eventually launch, gamblers will be able to place bets at casino sports books, as well as at self-service betting kiosks within the casinos. Meanwhile, geofenced mobile apps are available provided the user is on the premises.<\/p>\n

Outside of tribal lands, offering sports betting in Washington remains a felony, as does the simple act of placing a bet online. The state is unique in America in that its gambling laws target not only illegal online operators, but their customers, too.<\/p>\n

Not everyone is enamored of this bill and the possibility remains that it could be struck down in the courts before the tribes start taking bets.<\/p>\n

Maverick Lawsuit Coming <\/strong><\/h2>\n

The controversy arises because the bill passed the legislature with an emergency clause tagged on the end that allowed it to become law the moment Gov. Inslee\u2019s pen hit paper, foregoing the customary public referendum for gambling expansion legislation.<\/p>\n

Anticipating that sports betting would become legal in Washington, Nevada-based Maverick Gaming<\/a> bought 19 card rooms in the state since the US Supreme Court shot down federal prohibition.<\/p>\n

Maverick CEO Eric Persson is a Washington native and member of the Shoalwater Bay tribe. But he says he is prepared to spend \u201c$20 (million) to $30 million\u201d challenging the tribes\u2019 \u201ctax-free monopoly,\u201d which he says is unconstitutional.<\/p>\n

Persson argues the emergency clause should not have been allowed to stand because the situation did not qualify as an emergency. He claims it was only added because the bill\u2019s sponsors realized they lacked the requisite 60 percent support from voters for the tribal-only bill to succeed at a referendum.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Washington State Gov. Jay Inslee on Wednesday signed into law a controversial bill that legalizes sports betting at tribal casinos. In doing so, Washington became the first state this year to authorize wagering on sporting events. But it does so at a time when there are precious few sporting events to wager on. Betting companies […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":36,"featured_media":131267,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[13,1074],"tags":[],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nWashington Sports Betting Bill Becomes Law Amid Game Drought<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Washington sports betting bill for tribal-only wagering was signed off by Gov. Jay Inslee. But a legal challenge remains.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"noindex, follow\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Washington Sports Betting Bill Becomes Law Amid Game Drought\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Washington sports betting bill for tribal-only wagering was signed off by Gov. Jay Inslee. But a legal challenge remains.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/washington-sports-betting-bill-becomes-law-amid-game-drought\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Casino.org\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/Casino.OrgNews\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2020-03-27T00:36:21+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2020-03-27T01:27:32+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/Jay.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1200\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"800\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Philip Conneller\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@casinoorgphilc\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@Casino_Org\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Philip Conneller\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/washington-sports-betting-bill-becomes-law-amid-game-drought\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/washington-sports-betting-bill-becomes-law-amid-game-drought\/\",\"name\":\"Washington Sports Betting Bill Becomes Law Amid Game Drought\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/washington-sports-betting-bill-becomes-law-amid-game-drought\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/washington-sports-betting-bill-becomes-law-amid-game-drought\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/Jay.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2020-03-27T00:36:21+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2020-03-27T01:27:32+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/58769b72851c8cf117fb58ca150ebf8b\"},\"description\":\"Washington sports betting bill for tribal-only wagering was signed off by Gov. Jay Inslee. But a legal challenge remains.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/washington-sports-betting-bill-becomes-law-amid-game-drought\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/washington-sports-betting-bill-becomes-law-amid-game-drought\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/washington-sports-betting-bill-becomes-law-amid-game-drought\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/Jay.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/Jay.jpg\",\"width\":1200,\"height\":800,\"caption\":\"Gov. Jay Inslee put pen to paper Wednesday, but the state\u2019s commercial gaming industry claims tribal-only Washington sports betting is unconstitutional. (Image: PBS)\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/washington-sports-betting-bill-becomes-law-amid-game-drought\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"News\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Sports Betting\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/sportsbetting\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":3,\"name\":\"Washington Sports Betting Bill Becomes Law Amid Game Drought, Legal Challenge Looms\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/\",\"name\":\"Casino.org\",\"description\":\"Latest Casino and Gaming News\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/58769b72851c8cf117fb58ca150ebf8b\",\"name\":\"Philip Conneller\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/cropped-5-1-96x96.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/cropped-5-1-96x96.png\",\"caption\":\"Philip Conneller\"},\"description\":\"In Philip Conneller\u2019s eight years with Casino.org, he has covered the gaming industry from Las Vegas to Macau and everything in between. He currently focuses his coverage on gaming law, white-collar crime, global money laundering, tribal gaming, politics, and regulation. Philip was the original features editor for poker\u2019s Bluff Magazine and editor for Bluff Europe, which he helped launch. His writing has also been featured in ESPN, Forbes, Time Out, The Sun, and The Daily Star, as well as iGaming Business, eGaming Review, and numerous other industry news and tech websites. His news stories for Casino.org\/news have been linked by The Washington Post, The Daily Mail, People Magazine, and Jimmy Fallon's Tonight Show, among many others. Philip once won $20,000 with 7-2 off-suit. He has been reprimanded for unwittingly playing Elton John\u2019s piano on two separate occasions on both sides of the Atlantic. He became a writer because he is a lousy pianist. Philip lives outside London with his wife and children, where he spends his time agonizing about Arsenal FC. Contact Philip at philip.conneller@casino.org.\",\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/muckrack.com\/philip-conneller\",\"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/in\/philip-conneller-1495a48\/?originalSubdomain=uk\",\"https:\/\/x.com\/casinoorgphilc\"],\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/author\/phillip-conneller\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Washington Sports Betting Bill Becomes Law Amid Game Drought","description":"Washington sports betting bill for tribal-only wagering was signed off by Gov. Jay Inslee. But a legal challenge remains.","robots":{"index":"noindex","follow":"follow"},"og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Washington Sports Betting Bill Becomes Law Amid Game Drought","og_description":"Washington sports betting bill for tribal-only wagering was signed off by Gov. Jay Inslee. But a legal challenge remains.","og_url":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/washington-sports-betting-bill-becomes-law-amid-game-drought\/","og_site_name":"Casino.org","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/Casino.OrgNews","article_published_time":"2020-03-27T00:36:21+00:00","article_modified_time":"2020-03-27T01:27:32+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1200,"height":800,"url":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/Jay.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Philip Conneller","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@casinoorgphilc","twitter_site":"@Casino_Org","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Philip Conneller","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/washington-sports-betting-bill-becomes-law-amid-game-drought\/","url":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/washington-sports-betting-bill-becomes-law-amid-game-drought\/","name":"Washington Sports Betting Bill Becomes Law Amid Game Drought","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/washington-sports-betting-bill-becomes-law-amid-game-drought\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/washington-sports-betting-bill-becomes-law-amid-game-drought\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/Jay.jpg","datePublished":"2020-03-27T00:36:21+00:00","dateModified":"2020-03-27T01:27:32+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/58769b72851c8cf117fb58ca150ebf8b"},"description":"Washington sports betting bill for tribal-only wagering was signed off by Gov. Jay Inslee. But a legal challenge remains.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/washington-sports-betting-bill-becomes-law-amid-game-drought\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/washington-sports-betting-bill-becomes-law-amid-game-drought\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/washington-sports-betting-bill-becomes-law-amid-game-drought\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/Jay.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/Jay.jpg","width":1200,"height":800,"caption":"Gov. Jay Inslee put pen to paper Wednesday, but the state\u2019s commercial gaming industry claims tribal-only Washington sports betting is unconstitutional. (Image: PBS)"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/washington-sports-betting-bill-becomes-law-amid-game-drought\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"News","item":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Sports Betting","item":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/sportsbetting\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"Washington Sports Betting Bill Becomes Law Amid Game Drought, Legal Challenge Looms"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/","name":"Casino.org","description":"Latest Casino and Gaming News","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/58769b72851c8cf117fb58ca150ebf8b","name":"Philip Conneller","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/cropped-5-1-96x96.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/cropped-5-1-96x96.png","caption":"Philip Conneller"},"description":"In Philip Conneller\u2019s eight years with Casino.org, he has covered the gaming industry from Las Vegas to Macau and everything in between. He currently focuses his coverage on gaming law, white-collar crime, global money laundering, tribal gaming, politics, and regulation. Philip was the original features editor for poker\u2019s Bluff Magazine and editor for Bluff Europe, which he helped launch. His writing has also been featured in ESPN, Forbes, Time Out, The Sun, and The Daily Star, as well as iGaming Business, eGaming Review, and numerous other industry news and tech websites. His news stories for Casino.org\/news have been linked by The Washington Post, The Daily Mail, People Magazine, and Jimmy Fallon's Tonight Show, among many others. Philip once won $20,000 with 7-2 off-suit. He has been reprimanded for unwittingly playing Elton John\u2019s piano on two separate occasions on both sides of the Atlantic. He became a writer because he is a lousy pianist. Philip lives outside London with his wife and children, where he spends his time agonizing about Arsenal FC. Contact Philip at philip.conneller@casino.org.","sameAs":["https:\/\/muckrack.com\/philip-conneller","https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/in\/philip-conneller-1495a48\/?originalSubdomain=uk","https:\/\/x.com\/casinoorgphilc"],"url":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/author\/phillip-conneller\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/131266"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/36"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=131266"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/131266\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/131267"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=131266"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=131266"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=131266"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}