State, Squaxin Island Tribe reach tentative amended gaming compact; limits, ETGs and problem-gambling safeguards updated

The Washington State Gambling Commission and representatives of the Squaxin Island Tribe told the legislative committee on Feb. 17 that they have reached a tentative amended and restated tribal-state gaming compact.

Tina Griffin, director of the Washington State Gambling Commission, said the package modernizes and consolidates the tribe's compact by folding several appendices into the main compact and adding some appendices that are new to the tribe. "We have reached tentative agreement on an amended restated tribal state gaming compact," Griffin said, noting commissioners and statutory ex officio legislators will vote on the compact at a public commission meeting.

Ray Peters, Squaxin Island intergovernmental affairs and tribal council liaison, told the committee the tribe supports the amendments as clarifying and helpful for regulation and operations. "The amendments simply clarify the existing compact, improving the ability of the tribe to regulate and manage the casino," Peters said, and added that the changes will support employment and funding for tribal governmental services such as housing and health care.

Commission and staff presentations described several specific changes. The limitations appendix raises some table-game wager ceilings (up to $1,000 in general and up to $5,000 for prescreened customers in designated high-limit areas), increases some facility limits (authorizing up to 125 gaming stations and as many as 3,000 player terminals across a tribe's facilities), and authorizes, in some circumstances, extension of credit for qualified patrons. A newly added electronic table-games (ETG) appendix would permit electronic versions of table games with wager limits up to $500 and a 9:1 ratio of electronic stations to live tables.

Johnny Bray, tribal relations adviser for the Gambling Commission, said the restated compact also updates responsible-gaming and problem-gambling commitments and aligns the tribe's text with recent appendix changes other tribes have adopted.

Committee members asked clarifying questions. Representative Chase asked where the Squaxin Island tribe and its casino are located; Peters said the tribe's island is in the Dana Passage area west of Olympia, and the casino is in the Chimacum/Camcelchi Valley area between Olympia and Shelton. Representative Walsh expressed concern that raising maximum wager limits might correlate with more gambling harm and asked whether the state has data to track that effect. Griffin and tribal representatives said the state does not maintain statewide data showing that correlation and that the higher limits have been authorized for other tribes since roughly 2018'019; they emphasized that screening and protections for high-limit areas are implemented by tribes and monitored by the gambling commission.

The commission's staff reminded the committee that the Gambling Commission will hold a public meeting on Thursday, Feb. 12, at 9:30 a.m. to accept public comment and to vote on whether to forward the proposed amendment to the governor for review and approval or to send it back for further negotiation; if executed, the governor and the Secretary of the Interior would complete subsequent steps for Federal Register publication.

The work session closed without a formal committee action; the commission vote and public comment period are the next procedural steps.

Sources in the committee hearing: Tina Griffin, director, Washington State Gambling Commission; Johnny Bray, tribal relations adviser, Washington State Gambling Commission; Ray Peters, intergovernmental affairs and tribal council liaison, Squaxin Island Tribe.