Spokane Pact May Expand Washington Gaming
Published: Wednesday, February 14, 2007 Online-Casinos.com
SPOKANE PACT MAY EXPAND WASHINGTON GAMING
Washington state has a reputation for being strongly anti-online gambling....it doesn't extend to other forms of the pastime, though
Washington state may regard online gamblers as criminals, but it has a quite different view of tribal gambling judging from developments in the state recently where the rebellious Spokane tribe, after years of asserting its rights to run on-reservation casinos has finally received the approval of Governor Chris Gregoire and her officials.
The state Gambling Commission's approval last week of a tribal-state compact with the Spokane Tribe of Indians allows the tribe to operate up to 4 700 gambling machines in as many as five casinos no closer than 25 miles.
Although the remoteness of the tribe's large reservation would likely limit its operations below that number of devices, the commission expects to agree to similar compacts with five other tribes with more lucrative markets, include the Puyallups, who have casinos in Tacoma and Fife. Puyallups are seeking an increase in the 3 000 machines it currently operates.
"Negotiations with all the other tribes are centering around similar terms and conditions as the Spokane tribe," Tom Fitzsimmons, the governor's chief of staff, told the News Tribune newspaper.
Fitzsimmons said other tribes are not likely to get permission to operate 4 700 machines, largely because they don't have reservations as large at the Spokanes. He predicted, however, that the slot inventory at tribal casinos statewide could jump from 18 225 to about 25 000 devices.
Another feature of the Spokane deal that other tribes could get is the power to raise betting limits from $5 to $20 on 15 percent of the machines.
Twenty tribes currently operate 25 casinos in the state, generating about $1.2 billion a year.
The Gambling Commission voted 6-3 on Friday to endorse the deal. Governor Gregoire is expected to sign the compact and send it to the U.S. Department of the Interior, which also is expected to give its approval.
"The Spokane tribe clearly needs the opportunities provided by this compact," said Spokane Tribal Secretary Gerald Nicodemus. "This compact will be the best chance to impact our tribe's future in a historic way."
The Spokanes are the last tribe in Washington that runs casinos without a gambling compact with the state. The tribe needs the compact to get financing for a casino-hotel and to ask the federal government for permission to build an off-reservation casino.
Under terms the compact, gambling profits would be used to support tribal government services like health care, education and housing. The agreement is similar to the one between the state and the nearby Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation.
The Spokanes have operated casinos without a compact, in defiance of the law, with disputes sometimes spilling over into court.
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