On Wednesday, lawmakers in Washington state filed a bill that would expand the availability of legal sports betting to card rooms, marking the third time in three years that the state’s card rooms, led by Maverick Gaming, have tried to legislatively break the existing monopoly that allows for wagering at tribal casinos only.
Washington is so far the only state in the U.S. that has given total exclusivity to its tribes, though it’s possible that California, the biggest tribal gaming state in the country, will eventually find itself in a similar situation. California’s tribes late last year successfully killed a commercial digital sports betting initiative by one of the widest margins in American history.
