Is sports betting legal in Washington?
Yes, but only on tribal casino premises. House Bill 2638, signed March 25, 2020, lets tribes add sports wagering to their Class III gaming compacts, and the first tribal sportsbook opened in September 2021. You have to be physically on a tribal casino's premises to bet, whether at a window, a kiosk or the casino's app. Betting online from anywhere else in the state is a class C felony.
Where you can bet
Legal Sports Report lists 17 tribal casinos with sportsbooks. Several use national brands: DraftKings at Tulalip Resort Casino and Quil Ceda Creek, FanDuel at Suquamish Clearwater, BetMGM at the two Emerald Queen casinos, and Caesars at Muckleshoot, Chewelah and Spokane Tribe Casino. Others run their own books with suppliers such as IGT and Kambi. The Gambling Commission requires casino apps to geofence bettors to the property.
The Sports Wagering Integrity Act, Senate Bill 6137, was signed March 30, 2026 and took effect June 11, 2026. Bets on Washington college teams are now allowed, but not bets on an individual in-state college athlete's performance, an in-state coach's in-game decisions or officiating calls in in-state college games. Minor league betting is still barred. The law also lets a customer bet at any tribe's gaming facility, and it makes threatening an athlete or official over a wager a gross misdemeanor.
The state doesn't collect a sports betting tax. Tribes reimburse the Gambling Commission's regulatory costs under their compacts. Tribal books accept bettors at 18, while some casinos set 21.
How Washington legalized sports betting
Before sports betting (1889 to 2006)
For its first 83 years the state constitution (Article II, Section 24) banned all gambling. A 1972 amendment allowed specific forms of gambling, but only with a supermajority vote of the Legislature or the voters. The Legislature passed the Gambling Act (RCW 9.46) in 1973 and created the Washington State Gambling Commission. After the federal Indian Gaming Regulatory Act passed in 1988, RCW 9.46.360 directed the Commission to negotiate Class III compacts. All 29 federally recognized tribes in the state now have one.
Senate Bill 6613, signed March 28, 2006 and effective June 7, 2006, added the internet to the list of banned means of sending or receiving gambling information under RCW 9.46.240. It raised the penalty from a gross misdemeanor to a class C felony. It passed 44 to 0 in the Senate and 93 to 5 in the House.
House Bill 2638 (2018 to 2021)
The Supreme Court struck down the federal sports betting ban in Murphy v. NCAA on May 14, 2018. House Bill 2638 passed the House 83 to 14 and the Senate 34 to 15, and Gov. Jay Inslee signed it on March 25, 2020 (Chapter 127, Laws of 2020). It created RCW 9.46.0364, which lets a tribe amend its compact to offer sports wagering on its Indian lands. Wagers placed online are legal only if the bettor is physically on the premises of the tribe's gaming facility. The bill left out college teams based in Washington.
Senate Bill 6277 (2020) would have allowed sports betting at cardrooms and racetracks, and a floor amendment to add cardrooms to HB 2638 wasn't adopted. Cardroom bills failed again in 2021 (Senate Bill 5212) and 2022 (House Bill 1674). Maverick Gaming, which owned 19 cardrooms, testified against HB 2638.
The Gambling Commission voted in July 2020 to start rulemaking, and its pre-licensing rules took effect March 29, 2021. It announced tentative compact amendments with 14 tribes in April and May 2021. Snoqualmie Casino took the state's first legal sports bet in September 2021. By December 2024, when the Ninth Circuit decided Maverick's appeal, 20 tribes had federally approved sports wagering amendments.
Later changes (2022 to 2026)
No law so far lets anyone bet off tribal premises. SB 6137 passed the Senate 41 to 8 and the House 70 to 26, and the Senate concurred 43 to 6. It opened in-state college betting with the limits above. It became Chapter 246, Laws of 2026.
Sports betting court cases in Washington
Rousso v. State (Wash. No. 83040-1, 2010)
Lee Rousso, a Washington resident who played online poker, argued that the 2006 felony law violated the dormant Commerce Clause. On September 23, 2010 the Washington Supreme Court upheld RCW 9.46.240 (170 Wn.2d 70), in an opinion by Justice Richard Sanders that left the internet gambling question to the Legislature. King County's 2026 injunction against Kalshi cites Rousso.
Maverick Gaming LLC v. United States (tribal exclusivity)
Maverick sued federal officials and state officials in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia on January 11, 2022. It claimed that the sports wagering compact amendments violate IGRA, the Equal Protection Clause and the Tenth Amendment. The court moved the case to the Western District of Washington on April 28, 2022 (No. 3:22-cv-05325-DGE). The Shoalwater Bay Indian Tribe intervened only to seek dismissal. On February 21, 2023 Chief Judge David Estudillo dismissed the case because the tribe was a required party that couldn't be joined, given its sovereign immunity.
The Ninth Circuit affirmed on December 13, 2024 (No. 23-35136). Judge Kim McLane Wardlaw wrote the opinion, and Judge Eric Miller concurred. Maverick filed a petition for certiorari on May 9, 2025 (No. 24-1161), and the Supreme Court denied it on October 6, 2025, which ended the case.
State of Washington v. KalshiEX LLC (King County No. 26-2-10264-3 SEA)
Attorney General Nick Brown sued Kalshi in King County Superior Court on March 27, 2026, under the Gambling Act, the Consumer Protection Act and the Recovery of Money Lost at Gambling Act. Kalshi removed the case to federal court that day (W.D. Wash. No. 2:26-cv-01062). U.S. District Judge John C. Coughenour remanded it on May 5, 2026. A Ninth Circuit panel (Judges Nelson, Bade and Lee) refused a stay on May 21, writing that federalism and comity favor letting Washington "enforce its laws in state court." Kalshi's appeal of the remand (No. 26-3106) was stayed on September 23 until the court's mandates issue in the Nevada cases.
Back in state court, Judge John McHale granted a preliminary injunction on July 20, 2026. He found that Kalshi had "willfully ignored" the Gambling Commission's December 9, 2025 notice. A Court of Appeals commissioner denied Kalshi an emergency stay on August 10. McHale's amended order, filed August 12, bars Kalshi from offering sports, elections, politics, entertainment, culture, tech and science, and "mentions" contracts in Washington. Commodities, climate, economics and finance markets are allowed. The order required an IP and residency geofence by August 19 and a GeoComply geofence by September 2, at $120,000 a day for delay unless Kalshi explains the delay under oath. Users may still exit positions they hold. McHale denied Kalshi's reconsideration motion on September 16. The injunction is in effect, and we haven't found a ruling yet on Kalshi's appeal to the Court of Appeals.
Operator suits against the state (W.D. Wash.)
Four CFTC-registered operators have sued Brown and the gambling commissioners, each asking for a ruling that the Commodity Exchange Act preempts state gambling law:
Robinhood Derivatives LLC v. Griffin, No. 3:26-cv-05311, filed March 30, 2026: stayed by agreement on May 21, 2026 until after a Ninth Circuit decision.
North American Derivatives Exchange Inc. v. Brown, No. 2:26-cv-02579, filed July 22, 2026 by the Crypto.com-owned company that does business as OG: under an August 18 stipulation, which Judge Coughenour signed August 27, the state won't bring civil or criminal enforcement over OG's contracts while the related appeals are pending. The case was stayed August 31.
Ludlow Exchange LLC v. Brown, No. 3:26-cv-05888, filed August 6, 2026 by Novig's operator: no ruling as of September 25.
Underdog Exchange DCM Inc. v. Brown, No. 2:26-cv-03200, filed September 8, 2026: assigned to Judge Thomas Zilly, with a joint status report due November 13.
In a separate case, Brown v. Kalshi Inc. (No. 2:26-cv-01426), filed April 27, 2026, a private plaintiff seeks class status. Kalshi moved to dismiss on July 17, and the plaintiff filed an amended complaint on August 21.
Ninth Circuit rulings that bind Washington's federal courts
In KalshiEX v. Assad (No. 25-7516), decided August 28, 2026, the Ninth Circuit upheld the dissolution of Kalshi's injunction against Nevada regulators. It held that sports event contracts aren't "swaps" under the Commodity Exchange Act and rejected Kalshi's preemption claims. Washington's attorney general joined the states' amicus brief. Kalshi asked for rehearing en banc on September 9, and Robinhood filed a Supreme Court petition that day. We haven't found a ruling on either as of September 25, 2026. On September 16 the court held in Blue Lake Rancheria v. Kalshi (No. 25-7504) that California tribes are likely to show that sports contracts entered from tribal land are Class III gaming governed by IGRA.
Prediction markets and daily fantasy
The Gambling Commission's December 9, 2025 notice says: "Offering events-based contracts or participating in these markets is not authorized in Washington State." Kalshi is under the King County injunction, and OG has a non-enforcement deal while the appeals run (see the court cases above). Novig's operator, Ludlow Exchange, LLC, which the CFTC designated a contract market on June 16, 2026, is suing the state. Its eligibility page excludes only Nevada, Arizona and Michigan, and it requires users to be 21 with ID. Its prices carry no built-in vig, and pregame straight trades carry no fee.
The Commission says Washington law has never allowed fantasy sports, bracket pools or office pools. PrizePicks' Washington page lists its free-to-play game for users 18 and older.
Help with a gambling problem
Washington State Problem Gambling Helpline: call or text 1-800-547-6133, 24 hours a day, or chat through the Evergreen Council on Problem Gambling.
Sources
Ninth Circuit opinion, Maverick Gaming LLC v. United States, No. 23-35136 (December 13, 2024)
HeraldNet: federal judge dismisses Maverick suit (February 22, 2023)
Supreme Court docket No. 24-1161, Maverick Gaming LLC v. United States
Gambling Commission: history of sports wagering in Washington
Gambling Commission: prediction markets notice (December 9, 2025)
Spokesman-Review: attorney general sues Kalshi (March 27, 2026)
State of Washington v. KalshiEX LLC, W.D. Wash. No. 2:26-cv-01062 (removal and remand)
State of Washington v. KalshiEX LLC, Ninth Circuit No. 26-3106
Spokesman-Review: King County judge rules against Kalshi (July 21, 2026)
Amended and updated preliminary injunction order (August 12, 2026)
GeekWire: Kalshi ordered to geofence Washington by September 2
North American Derivatives Exchange Inc. v. Brown, No. 2:26-cv-02579
Ninth Circuit opinion, Blue Lake Rancheria v. Kalshi (September 16, 2026)
InGame: Kalshi seeks en banc rehearing, Robinhood petitions Supreme Court (September 10, 2026)