The Kalispel Tribe is a group of indigenous Indians inhabiting the Washington area. They see
this decision to allow sports gambling as a historic development for their tribe. The impact of
the decision is believed to be almost comparable to when the tribe first got approval to start
Northern Quest Casino in 1998. The executive director of operations at Northern Quest has
described the decision as ‘pretty monumental’ for the continued growth and profitability of the
casino. Northern Quest hopes to implement all facilities for sports wagering before the start of
the coming football season to capitalize on this new development.
Many tribes are living around Washington State are heavily dependent on the income from
their casinos. The approval of sports gambling at Northern Quest is part of a larger plan by the
Washington Gambling Commission to legalize sports gambling at the tribal casinos of
Washington to boost the revenue of these tribal groups. More tribal casinos will soon be made
part of this scheme of preliminary approval for sports gambling.
Sports gambling was an illegal practice in the USA from 1992. A law was put in place banning all
forms of commercial sports gambling. But after many decades, in 2018, this law was finally
overturned by the Supreme Court of the USA. Washington State also followed the lead of the
Supreme Court. It passed a bill, House Bill 2638, to allow legal sports gambling in tribal casinos
of the state.
But this does not mean that all Washington tribal casinos can immediately start sports gambling
in their establishments. The state and the federal government have put various regulations in
place for sports gambling. Tribal casinos need to fulfill all these requirements before they can
start sports wagering operations. Strict restrictions are necessary to prevent any illegal
practices and ensure the financial safety of all stakeholders.
