Washington slot machine casino gambling consists of 31 tribal casinos with a unique type of electronic player terminal based on scratch tickets controlled by a state-wide Tribal Lottery System (TLS).
All state-tribal compacts set a minimum theoretical payout limit. However, no return statistics are publicly available.
Classic free fruit machines at the online casinos in any emulator may look very similar to the ones that were once commonly found in land-based, regardless they are played for fun or for real money. A casino is a facility for certain types of gambling. Casinos are often built near or combined with hotels, resorts, restaurants, retail shopping, cruise ships, and other tourist attractions. Some casinos are also. Casino Slot Machines for sale Slot Machines for Sale - Gamblers Choice. Bally Alpha 1 M9000 Bonus Frenzy. Bally Alpha 1 S9000 Wild Red. Bally Alpha 1 S9000 Wild Stripes. Bally Alpha 1 S9000 Stars and Bars 3 reel.
This post continues my weekly State-By-State Slot Machine Casino Gambling Series, an online resource dedicated to guiding slot machine casino gambler to success. Now in its third year, each weekly post reviews slots gambling in a single U.S. state, territory, or federal district.
Find my podcast wherever you listen to audio!
The minimum legal gambling age in Washington depends upon the gambling activity:
Washington’s player terminals at tribal casinos are based on the lottery’s scratch ticket games in electronic form. This unique form of slot machines makes Washington slot machines unique in the U.S. All other U.S.-based lottery terminals are based on draw lotteries, not from lotteries other game: scratch tickets.
Twenty-nine tribes originally negotiated tribal-state compacts to offer gambling at tribal casinos. However, the state and these tribes could not agree whether Vegas-style slot machines should be legal in Washington.
Scratch-based gaming machines resulted from early negotiations of these gaming compacts. This impasse resolution led to creating a secondary lottery system for player terminals at tribal casinos. The state lottery was a model for the TLS.
Draw-based terminals create tickets at the time of the bet using random number generators (RNGs). However, scratch-based terminals know in advance the result of each wager. Put another way, the outcome of each bet is pre-determined and do not require an RNG.
Another technical difference between lottery draw tickets and scratch tickets is how many of them can exist. For example, there are as many draw tickets as players are willing to buy. However, lotteries create only a limited number of scratch tickets but, hopefully, enough for a busy night at a Washington tribal casino.
All negotiated tribal-state compacts also have other legal restrictions for their scratch-based terminal-style slot machines. These limits have been expanding over time as part of this state’s dynamic gaming industry. The requirements are:
*The purpose of this section is to inform the public of state gambling laws and how the laws might apply to various forms of gaming. It is not legal advice.
It is legal to own a slot machine privately in the state of Washington if it is 25 years old or older.
The gaming control board is the Washington State Gambling Commission offering licensing, regulation, and enforcement of certain aspects of the gaming industry in Washington. Their regulatory responsibilities primarily include testing and approving new electronic gaming machines.
Further, each tribe with a casino in Washington has a tribal gaming agency (TGA). Agents of a TGA are the primary regulators at tribal casinos. At all times, at least one TGA agent must be on duty at a tribal casino.
There are 31 American Indian tribal casinos and multiple cruise ships based in the state of Washington.
The largest casino in Washington is Muckleshoot Casino with 3,125 electronic gaming terminals.
The second-largest casino is Ilani Casino Resort with 2,500 electronic gaming terminals.
The state of Washington has no commercial casinos with slot machines.
The state of Washington has 31 tribal casinos:
As an alternative to enjoying Washington slot machine casino gambling, consider exploring casino options in a nearby state. Bordering Washington is:
Each of the links above will take you to my blog for that neighboring U.S. state to Washington.
Are you interested in sharing and learning with other slots enthusiasts in Washington? If so, join our Washington slots community on Facebook. All you’ll need is a Facebook profile to join this closed Facebook Group freely.
There, you’ll be able to privately share your slots experiences as well as chat with players about slots gambling in Washington. Join us!
The TLS directly controls the results of Washington’s unique terminal-style slot machines. TLS’ central computer system provides the outcome of each bet made on each terminal at the time of the wager. This off-site control extends to any bonus rounds.
All tribal-state compacts in Washington established a minimum theoretical payout of 75% for slot machines. Further, no return statistics for slots are available to the public.
Washington slot machine casino gambling consists of 31 tribal casinos with electronic scratch ticket video player terminal slot machines. The state-run Tribal Lottery System (TLS) controls the results of all bets offsite from the tribal casinos.
Tribal-state compacts have set a minimum theoretical payout of 75% for their unique terminal-style electronic slot machines. No return statistics are available to the public.
Over the last year, Tulalip Resort Casino with its 2,400 gaming machines has dropped from second largest casino to third largest, replaced by Ilani Casino Resort with its 2,500 gaming machines.
Further, two tribal casinos have opened within the last year, including Kalispel Casino in Cusick located 53 miles north of Spokane and Spokane Tribe Casino located in Airway Heights a few miles west of Spokane.
Have fun, be safe, and make good choices!
By Jon H. Friedl, Jr. Ph.D., President
Jon Friedl, LLC
The Marion County Commission voted unanimously Tuesday to prohibit the use of simulated gambling devices for commercial purposes.
The county sheriff’s office recommended the action because of what it said was an increase in violent crimes because of simulated gambling devices at internet cafés.
According to the ordinance, simulated gambling devices include any computer-operated games – particularly slot machines – that may deliver the person playing a payoff.
Internet cafés are considered hotspots for crime because of practices like keeping cash on hand and lacking properly trained security, Sgt. Paul Bloom, the public information officer for the sheriff’s office, told WUFT News.
Bloom said four robberies had occurred at the cafés within the last month. The most recent one involved a gunman pointing a firearm at a pregnant clerk and her 9-year-old child, he said.
“The crimes are escalating at internet cafés,” Bloom said. “Eventually, robbery escalates into homicide.”
The ordinance won’t shut down the internet cafés all together. However, any store manager or employee risks being issued a $250 fine per device in operation.
Any employee operating five or more devices could also face arrest, said Tim McCourt, the sheriff’s office’s general counsel, who prepared a draft ordinance for the commission.
“The employee who would be there, if they have 40 devices, could be issued 40 civil citations,” McCourt told the commission Tuesday. “They would also be committing 40 second-degree misdemeanors for which they could go to jail.”
The sheriff’s office district commanders will deliver notices Wednesday to about 40 internet cafés countywide, warning them about the new penalties, McCourt said.
The commission had discussed the ordinance at its last meeting, Jan. 19, but agreed to table the matter for two weeks to consider revisions suggested by Kelly Mathis, an attorney representing a coalition of game room owners. Mathis had argued for more regulation instead of prohibition.
Mathis compared the gambling devices to adult video games, and said removing them would drive internet cafés out of business. He urged the commission to insist that the troubled cafés improve their security systems instead of harming all such stores.
“The reason people go to these game rooms are the video games for adults,” Mathis said. “Saying you’re not closing the business is like telling a pizza restaurant, ‘You can stay in business, but you can’t sell pizzas.’”
It wasn’t the first time Mathis had failed to keep a city or county from impacting internet cafés.
In 2019, Jacksonville enacted similar ordinances prohibiting simulated gambling devices that Mathis challenged as unconstitutional. A federal judge of the Middle District Court of Florida found that the ordinances did not violate the U.S. Constitution.
The Marion County Sheriff’s Office also complained about a lack of cooperation between law enforcement and the management at internet cafés when a crime happens. McCourt said it’s routine for store owners to deny security footage upon request or simply not report a crime.
“It’s sad to say – that in the face of an armed robbery where someone has a firearm pointed at them and a small child – that law enforcement would be met with anything other than complete cooperation,” he said.
McCourt also argued that no state regulation exists covering the fairness of simulated gambling devices. These machines can deceive many county residents, according to the ordinance. And despite fiscal regulations, he said, many internet cafés don’t comply with income tax laws.
Twenty-three people spoke against the ordinance during the public hearing.
Sherri Matherly of Dunnellon said she’s visited internet cafés for years. She said not only do they uphold COVID-19 regulations, they are also “very considerate of us as older people.”
“They’re a safe place and a good place for us … to fellowship,” Matherly said. “This is a place that we can go and sit down and have good entertainment.”
Since coming to Marion County six years ago, Stacey Castaneda said working at internet cafés has allowed her to care for her five children as a single mother. After getting denied from 32 job applications, she said it’s become her only source of income.
“The jobs that I’ve went to, they look at me because I’m Hispanic,” Castaneda said. “I have a high school diploma. I have a college degree. Why can’t I get a good job?”
Sam Ali, who owns The Grand Arcade in Belleview, came prepared with paperwork to show that he pays business taxes. He said internet cafés that don’t abide by tax laws should be regulated.
“I do my business by the book,” Ali said. “My landlord is happy. My neighbors are happy.”
Only one person from the public spoke in support of the ordinance.
Roger Knechtel said he’s against all types of gambling. After witnessing others squander their hard-earned money on bets, he said there’s too many people that can’t afford to gamble.
“Gambling is a disease. We’ve cured HIV; Hepatitis A, B and C; we’re working on cancer,” Knechtel said. “But gambling and politicians: There’s no disease cure for them.”
County Commissioner Kathy Bryant made a motion to adopt the ordinance, saying the real issue for her was public safety more so than just regulating gambling.
“To think that someone held a gun to a 9-year-old child’s head: That’s unconscionable,” Bryant said. “My fear is that it’s just a matter of time before something serious happens, and then had this commission not taken action, it would fall upon us.”