Land Based Gambling
Online Gambling
Overview
Gambling within Washington DC is an interesting experience. The state is considered to be one of the more liberal within the United States with more than 60 land-based casinos available to enjoy. Starting in 1933, horseracing was the first form of gambling regulated in the state and it quickly grew to be widely enjoyed by many.
Thirty years after horseracing was legalised, Bingo was allowed to operate within Washington. Doors continued to open for different forms of gambling as the years went by, including Indian land-based casinos which received the go-ahead in 1992.
Now, many years later, gambling generates approximately $3 billion in revenue every year! More than 70% of this revenue is generated by the tribal casinos found in the reservations.
A Boost to the Economy
A massive boost to the economy, gambling establishments have fought for the liberties they have in the state.
In fact, Washington was one of the first states to allow online gambling but this decision was quickly reversed about a year later. The battle for online gambling is one that, unfortunately, has not yet been won.
Gambling in many different forms can be enjoyed within the states including charitable games, lottery, bingo, card clubs, and more.
As mentioned before, online gambling is not welcome within Washington and those who are caught partaking in online betting can find themselves in jail.
The law states that “whoever knowingly transmits or receives gambling information by telephone, telegraph, radio, semaphore, the internet, a telecommunications transmission system, or similar means, or knowingly installs or maintains equipment for the transmission or receipt of gambling information shall be guilty of a class C felony subject to the penalty set forth in RCW 9A.20.021.”
This means that being caught partaking in any form online gambling, even unwittingly, puts you in danger of being brought before the law.
It should also be noted that even in regulated land-based casinos, slots machines and video poker machines are not permitted in any more. When visiting any of the very popular tribal casinos, you'll find lottery terminals which look similar to video slot machines.
All in all, Washington's specific set of gambling laws are in place to allow fun for gamblers without overstepping any boundaries they've put in place.