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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