Both legislative chambers in Washington state have passed a bill that would allow betting on in-state college teams at the state’s land-based tribal-run casinos.
The House of Representatives passed Senate Bill 6137, which was approved in the Senate in February, by a 70-26 vote on Monday. If Senate legislators agree to a House committee amendment, the legislation will head to Gov. Bob Ferguson’s desk to be signed into law.
The bill, now known as the Sports Wagering Integrity Act, would change state law to allow betting on in-state college sports teams, as long as the wagers are placed in-person at tribal casinos via retail sportsbooks or by mobile device. Currently, people in Washington can bet on college sports as long as they don’t involve the likes of the University of Washington, Washington State University (WSU) or Gonzaga.
SB 6137 would also potentially give tribes more freedom in how they conduct sports betting.
It stipulates that a federally recognized Indian tribe in Washington may request to amend its gaming compact to authorize it to conduct and operate sports wagering on any Indian lands, not just its own. Tribes would be able to offer online sports betting at any tribe’s gaming facility, as long as the customers placing the bets were physically present on those premises.
Washington’s tribes have existing partnerships with sportsbooks including BetMGM, Caesars, DraftKings and FanDuel.
No bets on player performance or officiating decisions
While Washington lawmakers have overwhelmingly approved allowing bets on in-state college teams, mostly citing a desire to curb the existing black market in their reasoning, they’re standing firm on keeping some of the current limits in place.
Prop bets on the performances of individual athletes at Washington schools would still be banned. Legislators and school athletics staff testified during committee hearings about the need to protect athlete safety and to try to avoid students facing harassment from bettors.
In addition, the final House-approved version of the Senate bill would prohibit any bets on “an in-game decision made by a coach” at a Washington school or any officiating decisions in games involving Washington college teams. In-game coaching decisions could include player substitutions, calls for a time-out or a coach’s challenge for a replay review. Officiating decisions include any call made by a referee or other game official “that involves the individual’s judgment,” such as foul or penalty calls or player ejections.
Harassment concerns reflected in amendment
While many legislators and tribal casinos supported the bill, the state’s colleges voiced strong reservations about whether allowing legal betting on in-state teams would expose Washington student-athletes to more abuse from bettors. WSU Senior Director of State Relations Chris Mullick testified earlier this year that he felt there was “nothing in this bill but trouble for WSU and our student athletes, who are incredibly accessible, both on campus and online.”
Those concerns appear to have been considered by House Representatives.
As well as the coach and officiating decisions addition, the amendment made by the House Committee on State Government & Tribal Relations and adopted by the full chamber looks to crack down on harassment by banning any sports bettor who is found to have knowingly threatened a student-athlete, coach or official in relation to a wager either in person or via online communication. Threats would include physical harm to a person or their property or the use of language or conduct that places the person threatened “in reasonable fear that the threat will be carried out.”
Violators would be found guilty of a gross misdemeanor and would be banned from placing any sports wagers with licensed sportsbooks in the state.
If the Senate agrees to that amendment, as seems likely, the new state law will be forwarded to the governor’s desk for final rubber-stamping. It would take effect 90 days after being passed.
