It seems like most tribal casinos, based on the territory of Washington, are looking for expanding their business and influence on the economy of the state. Washington has been making the headlines recently as the first attempts for legalizing online poker were made. Now the question about the number of gambling facilities available at the tribal casinos is back on the agenda.
Currently, there are approximately 28,000 gambling machines distributed among the tribal casino venues. However, if the latest proposal gets authorities’ approval, the number of slot machines will be significantly increased. It is important to note that their number will be based on players’ demands rather than on bargaining.
If tribes get officials’ nod, there is a possibility the cap to be raised by 10% or even more.
As a matter of fact, tribal officials claim that the cap could double within the next ten years but the complicated market conditions would never allow such a thing to become reality.
According to W. Ron Allen, a key figure in the executive committee of the Washington Indian Gaming Association, the market is not developing as fast as it should.
Washington-based tribal casinos have been experiencing a lot of setbacks related to the revenues they generated during the years. It has been more than a decade since the first tribal casino opened doors for players but it was not until the last year when satisfactory annual revenue was reported.
Experts of the Gambling Commission consider the increased number of gambling machines due to high players’ demands to prevent long and fruitless negotiations from taking place.
However, authorities’ approval concerning the tribal officials’ request does not necessarily indicates the end of the negotiations since the tribal casinos may need to update their gambling facilities or substitute the existing machines with more attractive ones.
In case Washington gambling officials approve of the latest tribal compacts, the cap will be increased by 2,700 gambling machines.
Their number could be further increased provided that one of the tribes receives a license for building a casino in Southwest Washington.
Although there are several tribes looking for expansion of their business and building additional venues, Washington officials are convinced that even if the cap is maximized, it would take a pretty long time for the tribes to put into use all machines they are going to have within their properties.
As for the non-tribal venues, they are allowed to operate card rooms but for the time being, the availability of slot machines is prohibited. Although tribal casinos did not play a significant role in the gambling affairs of the state, now they have all chances to change that.
Sad as it may seem, the majority of Washington officials are not likely to support the idea for the presence of slot machines in card rooms anytime soon.
