On August 14th, the Tribe reports that the Washington State Gambling Commission voted 8-0 for the latest update to the Puyallup Tribe’s gaming compact. This latest move will allow lottery terminals in tribal casinos to offer wagers up to $30, as well as adding the ability to carry an additional 1,000 machines (although it is unclear whether that will be per casino or spread across multiple businesses).
Additionally, gaming tables at casinos on Puyallup tribal lands may offer limits as high as $1000, with the ability to offer $5000 limit tables to pre-screened clients. Currently table games at the Emerald Queen Casino have a high limit of $500, as such this move looks set to create a massive revenue boon to the tribe.
Originally set down in 1996, the gaming compact between the Puyallup Tribe and the State of Washington created a framework to allow for ‘Class III’ gaming on tribal lands. Within that framework, the agreement stated that “The Tribal gaming operation may utilize in its gaming facility, subject to this compact, any or all of the Class III gaming activities not specifically prohibited by federal law and not prohibited by the State as a matter of criminal law…” this included games like blackjack, craps, poker, and other common casino games.
The first amendment of that compact, finalized in 1998, allowed for the creation of a scratch ticket lottery system, with prices set at no more than $5 per ticket. The same limit was set on “On-line lottery games”. In 2004, the Tribe lobbied successfully with the State of Washington to increase the number of player terminals to 3,000 units with a maximum of 2,000 located at any one facility.
In 2007 the 4th amendment to the Puyallup Tribe gaming compact allowed for as many as 15% of lottery terminals in a casino to carry a $20 limit, up from the previous $5.
A brief overview of gaming compacts around the state of Washington suggests that while many tribes are still operating with $500 table limits and the aforementioned $5/$20 split on lottery game tickets, this move will put the tribe in alignment with the Muckleshoot gaming compact’s 2021 amendment. That document offered a detailed framework on the expansion of allowance for gaming machine access, as well as the other changes noted in the Puyallup Tribe’s 2025 proposal.
