In Washington State, the process has been slower in part because the state must renegotiate tribal compacts to include sports betting. The other, Virginia, legalized in April 2020, and operators went live there in late January. On March 25, 2020, Washington lawmakers legalized sports wagering to occur on premises only at tribal casinos, making it one of two states to legalize last year. “This rule is not the end-all, be-all for sports wagering,” said WSGC Director Dave Trujillo. At this point, the WSGC is merely collecting information from interested parties, as it can’t move forward with approving potential operators until a more comprehensive set of rules is approved.
The Washington State Gambling Commission on Wednesday took its first steps toward rolling out sports betting rules when it approved “pre-licensing qualification rules,” which lay out a list of what would-be sportsbook operators can begin to pull together ahead of the application process.