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Tribal
Compacts in Washington
Over the
past couple of months many have been
following the controversy over the
Spokane Tribe’s slot machines and
gambling compact closely. The Spokane
Tribe submitted to Governor Gregorie a
proposal that was markedly different
from the existing compacts the state had
with other tribes—and many were none to
pleased that they thought they were
entitled to more slot machines and more
leniencies than the other tribes in the
state.
Most within the state, the other tribes
included, were predicting that Governor
Gregorie would turn down the compact
because of how much they asked for in
terms of slot machines and betting
limits. But that wasn’t the case.
Governor Gregorie has approved the
Spokane Tribes slot machines compact—and
opened up a can of worms according to
some.
As soon as Gregorie approved the
compact, the other tribes wasted no time
submitting requests for changes to their
compacts. They are all asking for terms
more similar to the Spokane’s tribal
compact. If approved, this means
Washington will be bringing in over
25,000 more slot machines to the state.
Additionally, the other tribes would be
seeking to increase their betting limits
as well.
For those non-tribal businesses, they
are flabbergasted. With the new
compacts, the state will have
effectively put these other casinos and
slot machines out of business because
they will not be able to compete with
the tribes’ casinos. The non-tribal slot
machines and casinos already claimed
that operating against the tribes was
tough, but now they believe it will be
nearly impossible.
And though the other compacts are not
yet signed, most agree that the Governor
will approve those requested alterations
to existing compacts in the coming
months. This means beyond the slot
machines the Spokane tribe brings in,
the other tribes will be able to
increase their slot machines operations
by around 48 percent.
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