A stroke of a pen by Governor Bob Ferguson will be the final step in enabling a significant change to the sports betting laws in Washington.
Senate Bill 6137 (SB 6137), known as the Washington Sports Integrity Act, was approved by a 70-26 vote in the State House. The bill was previously passed through the State Senate via a 41-8 margin.
The bill now moves to Gov. Ferguson’s desk, where he can sign it into law. He has 20 days to either approve the bill or veto it.
Senate Bill 6137 makes a major change to college sports betting in Washington. It will allow the state’s sports bettors to place wagers on games involving in-state universities, something that was previously banned in Washington.
“What we’re doing with this bill is we’re saying you can now place sports wagers on tribal lands for in-state collegiate teams like Washington State University and the University of Washington,” Democrat Rep. Sharlett Mena of Tacoma,
told the Seattle Times
following the final passage on Friday.
While local college sports teams would now be eligible for wagering, betting on certain types of events remains prohibited. These include all player props, any in-game decisions made by coaches, and any officiating decisions.
If approved by the Governor, the new law would take effect 90 days following the April 27 adjournment of the current state legislative session.
Harsh penalties are being put into place for harassment of college athletes
In conjunction with the addition of in-state college sports betting, Washington lawmakers are also introducing significant penalties for anyone who is found to be harassing a state college sports athlete.
“We’re also adding critical accountability measures for antiharassment to ensure that our athletes are safe,” Mena said.
Under the new law, anyone found to be threatening coaches, players, or athletes over a wager on a game or competition will now be considered to be guilty of a gross misdemeanor. Anyone convicted of this crime would face punishment that would include a complete prohibition from placing future wagers.
State Rep. Shelley Kloba, a member of the Washington State Gaming Commission, believes that this is a growing problem for student-athletes thanks to sports betting.
“The level of harassment and threats against student-athletes is increasing,” Kloba said Friday. “It is intense, and it is ugly.”
A survey conducted in November by the NCAA found that 36% of all Division I men’s basketball players reported being harassed by sports bettors. Of that group, 29% indicated that they were the victims of in-person harassment.
“This is a real problem, and expanding gambling in Washington is not the solution, in our view,” Washington State senior director of state relations Chris Mullick said. “This is a dramatic expansion that opens a massive new market to wagers on WSU games.
“All of the benefits will land with others. All of the consequences will lie with us.”
The language of the bill also would make it possible to place a sports bet at any legal sportsbook in Washington as long as the person is situated on tribal land. In the past, bettors could only wager with the tribal casino’s partner sportsbook.
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