Slot Machine Increase

Washington State is looking to possibly increase the number of slot machines that they currently allow the tribal casinos to have. If a proposed amendment passes, the state will be increasing the number of slot machines currently running by 25,000. Most tribes are only allowed 675 currently and the new number would be 975 per tribe – and there are 27 tribes

They then can rent slot machines from other tribes to come up with a maximum of 3,000 slot machines per casino – because they can use the other tribe’s allocations. There are currently only a few casinos that run that many slot machines- tribes such as the Muckleshoots and the Puyallups. The new deal would change their maximums to 4,000 instead.

Slot machines first came in back in 1999, and this will be the biggest across-the-board increase since that time. The beauty of the slot machines is they bring in a lot of revenue for the tribes and for the state, and they don’t need a lot of labor to keep them running. People play them knowing that they won’t get a large payout, because the tribes set their own payout rates and they aren’t usually high.

Slot machine revenue was almost $1.2 billion last year, and with the changes they are going to be looking at coming close to doubling that figure. All other forms of gambling in Washington can not come close to bringing in that kind of income. The new proposal is up for approval in March.

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