Sports Betting in Washington State Could Be Ready to Go By September

Back in March of 2020, the Washington state legislature passed a law that would permit its residents to legally wager on sports. When the bill was signed by Gove. Jay Inslee, there was only one significant hurdle that needed to be cleared. That hurdle involved a renegotiation of Washington Tribal Compacts that had been in place for decades.

It took the better part of 17 months to get things done, but Gov. Inslee finally got the renegotiation process done with 16 of the state's most prominent Indian Tribes. If everything goes without a hitch from this point, residents of Washington could be legally wagering on sports by the start of the NFL regular season, which is set to begin on September 9, 2021.

Two things have to happen for this to become a reality. First, the U.S. Department of the Interior will have to approve the new compacts. They will have 45 days to do so from the date they received them, which was July 12, 2021. To date, the U.S. Department of the Interior has successfully gone through this process with at least five other states, including Arizona and Connecticut. Assuming there are no points of contention, this would be done by August 27, 2021.

The other thing that needs to happen is the state needs to complete the 30 day waiting period that is required after the WA Gambling Commission approved all of the sports wagering licensing rules. The Commission issued its final approval on July 31, 2021, which means the new rules will go into effect on August 30, 2021.

At that point, the Commission could begin issuing sports betting operator licenses to 15 of the 16 Tribes that seem certain to participate. The Commission has made clear they are ready and willing to issue those licenses as quickly as possible. With motivation running high to get things done by the state of the NFL regular season, it looks like there is a good chance things will get done on time.

All of this is contingent on the Tribes being contractually aligned with U.S.-approved sports betting operators. There is a good chance those contacts have already been negotiated. The bottom line is this, it looks like Washington State sports bettors will be joining the ranks of bettors in other states who will be betting on the NFL this season.

What About Nontribal Interest

It's important to note that the sports betting legislation that was signed only approved retail sports betting on Tribal land. At the same time, the door was left open for the Tribes and perhaps non Tribal interests to offer mobile sports betting at some time in the future. This is the same kind of model that is being used in Mississippi.

There's a feeling that as the rest of the nation keeps proving that U.S. residents strongly prefer mobile sports getting, the Washington Gambling Commission will give the green light. Until then, sports bettors will appreciate having the opportunity to visit retail sportsbooks.