Sauk Suiattle Tribe gains Washington sports betting agreement
The agreement with the Washington State Gambling Commission and will amend the tribe’s Class III gaming compact to add sports wagering.
US.- Three month after Governor Jay Inslee approved 15 tribal deals to allow sports betting at Washington state’s casinos, the Washington State Gaming Commission has reached a tentative agreement with the Sauk Suiattle Indian Tribe to amend the tribe’s Class III gaming compact to allow sports wagering.
The tribe located in Darrington will join the list of tribes permitted to offer sports betting, including the Tulalip Tribes, the Skokomish Indian Tribe and the Suquamish Tribe.
Bud Sizemore, Washington State Gambling Commission Chair, said: “This tentative agreement to amend the Sauk Suaittle Indian Tribe’s Class III gaming compact to include sports wagering represents the Gambling Commission’s continued work with Tribal Gaming Agencies across the state.”
He added: “Our mutual efforts are successfully helping tribal casinos add this new gaming experience for their customers.”
In representation of the tribe, Tribal Chair Nino Maltos II, stated: “The Sauk-Suiattle Indian Tribe is excited for the potential to explore this new gaming opportunity.”
Maltos sports betting presents an exciting new area that can provide an economic opportunity to Sauk-Suiattle and all of Indian Country.
He said: “We look forward to continuing our cooperation with the Washington State Gambling Commission to offer robustly regulated gaming that still offers quality entertainment to customers,” he said.
The next step for the agreement is to get approval from the Washington Senate Labor, Commerce, and Tribal Affairs Committee in a hearing scheduled for November 15. The agreement will then be heard by the House Commerce and Gaming Committee. That hearing date is yet to be determined.
On November 16, there will be a public hearing at which the Gambling Commission will review and vote on the agreement. Once signed, it will be reviewed by the Secretary of the United States Department of Interior. Finally, it must be published in the Federal Register before the Sauk Suiattle Tribe can accept sports wagers.
See also: Washington regulator approves sports betting at tribal casinos
The road towards the legalisation of sports betting
Sports betting at tribal casinos became an option after a 2018 decision by the US Supreme Court struck down a 1992 federal law that banned commercial sports betting in most states. Following that decision, the Washington Legislature last year passed House Bill 2638 to allow sports gambling at tribal casinos.
Governor Jay Inslee has since approved agreements with 15 tribes while another tribe was okayed by the state Gambling Commission.
The tribes in question are: The Colville, Cowlitz, Jamestown S’Klallam, Kalispel, Lummi, Muckleshoot, Puyallup, Shoalwater Bay, Snoqualmie, Spokane, Squaxin Island, Stillaguamish, Suquamish, Swinomish, and Tulalip tribes.
