Washington State has long been opposed to online gambling; however, they do host a massive state lottery and 29 land-based casinos on tribal lands as well as several house banked card rooms offering traditional player-versus-player poker as well as casino table games such as blackjack. While online casinos remain illegal here at present, it remains possible that this may change in future.
One event that could provide assistance is currently taking place: Maverick Gaming is seeking to overturn Washington State’s ban on sports gambling through legal proceedings and legalise sports gambling there, providing an extra boost for industry growth while forcing lawmakers in Washington State to reconsider their current stance on this matter.
Not all forms of gambling in Indiana are restricted solely to Indian casinos and card rooms; other forms include horse racing and state lotteries, while charitable organizations can hold charity bingo games or organize other forms of entertainment-based fundraising efforts to generate funds for themselves.
Even though Washington state laws regarding gambling are strict, there has been an increasing call for expanding and legalizing online gambling within its borders. This trend was further cemented after the Supreme Court ruling on sports wagering caused many people to reconsider their old judgments about this form of betting. Society is shifting, so now it is up to Washington state authorities to follow suit.
Lobbying is the first step toward change. You can do this by reaching out to local politicians and informing them of your support of online gambling, starting petitions or using social media as platforms to spread awareness of this cause. The greater support there is for change, the faster it will happen.
Washington may oppose most forms of online gambling, but there are a few notable exceptions. Horse race betting sites that provide advance deposit wagering at local tracks exist in Washington State as do house-banked poker rooms that offer blackjack as well as traditional player-versus-player poker games.
Additionally, Washington state offers several tribal-run programs dedicated to helping those struggling with gambling – Lummi Nation Behavioral Health and Tulalip Tribal Behavioral Health among them – that provide assistance. Furthermore, several national organizations also offer assistance for problem gamblers.
At the core, it lies with residents to lobby for changes to gambling laws in their state. Previous lobby efforts by residents have proved fruitful; should this trend continue, eventually legalization of all forms of online gambling should happen – this won’t happen overnight but hopefully following in the footsteps of states that have already legalized sports betting will encourage others to follow suit.