Washington State Moving Forward With Unique Sports Betting Bill

Washington is continuing to move steadily forward with legislation that would completely change the landscape of sports betting in the Evergreen State if it is passed into law.

Senate Bill 6137 (SB 6137) would enable legal and regulated online sports betting to take place anywhere in the state. Currently, Washington bettors can wager on sports in person at state tribal land-based casinos. They are permitted to place bets through the tribal casinos with a mobile app. However, they must still be physically located on the property of the tribal casino to place that bet.

Under SB 6137, while a bettor would still need to be on tribal casino land to place a sports bet, they would be able to do so with any online sports betting site that was licensed and regulated in Washington. The sports betting sites would need to be partnered with one of Washington’s 30 tribal casinos to be permitted to operate in the state.

However, as long as they are on the property of a tribal casino, bettors would be able to place bets with any licensed sports betting site, and not merely with the sportsbook that was partnered with the tribal casino at which they were placing the bet. In other words, a bettor could be inside a tribal casino that was partnered with BetMGM and place an online bet through DraftKings.

This proposal, if passed into law, would be unique in the USA legal and regulated sports betting market.

The bill has already advanced all the way through the process in the Senate. It was passed by a 41-8 vote. SB 6137 is currently being reviewed by the House Rules Committee.

If the House approves SB 1637 and it is signed into law, the bill would go into effect 90 days after the state legislature adjourns in March.

Washington is also moving ahead with changes to college sports betting

Another element of SB 6137 is a proposed change to how college sports betting works in Washington. Currently, wagering on in-state schools such as the Washington Huskies, Washington State Cougars, or Gonzaga Bulldogs is prohibited. If SB 6137 is passed into law, that would change.

State lawmakers believe that wagers on these games are already being placed by Washington bettors through unregulated offshore sportsbooks.

“Currently, Washingtonians are placing bets on schools like these but are doing them on illicit or grey market avenues,” Senator Adrian Cortes, a Washington State Democrat and one of the sponsors of SB 6137, told CBS station KREM 2.

“We need to ensure we protect student athletes and properly regulate sports betting on in-state college teams. ”

While wagering on local college sports teams would be permitted, player prop betting on college sports would remain prohibited. The concern is that enabling prop betting could lead to undue stress on college athletes from outside sources.

“I wonder how much pressure we put on our kids and our young people,” Democratic Senator Jesse Salomon said. “That’s what gives me concern.”

“We’re having this debate about who can profit off of their activities.”

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