OLYMPIA, Wash. – The Washington State Gambling Commission (WSGC) has reached a tentative agreement with the Tulalip Tribes of Washington on an amendment to its Class III gaming compact. The proposed twelfth amendment is a restatement of its original Compact signed in 1991, incorporating amendments 1 through 11.
Washington State Gambling Commission Chairperson Sarah Lawson said of the tentative compact amendment: “The proposed compact amendment modernizes the first Tribal-State Gaming Compact signed in Washington 35 years ago and demonstrates the robust history of collaboration between the State and the Tribe. Together, the State and the Tribe continue to keep Class III gaming in Washington legal, honest, and well-regulated for the public.”
Tulalip Tribes Chairman Hazen Shopbell said of the tentative compact amendment: “These compact amendments reflect a strong government-to-government partnership between the Tulalip Tribes and the State of Washington. This agreement helps ensure we can continue providing essential services for our community, creating good jobs, and contributing to the regional economy while maintaining the high standards of regulation and integrity that have long defined tribal gaming in Washington.”
Below is a summary of the major changes in the proposed amendment that includes some provisions that already exist in other tribal compacts and adds new provisions that don’t exist in other tribes’ compacts (full amendment attached).
- Replaces contributions with updated provisions.
- Allows $50 wagers on tribal lottery system player terminals consistent with lottery per ticket price.
- Allows table games and electronic table games in operation to offer up to $1,000 wagers.
- Allows table game jackpot sharing between its gaming facilities.
- Provides an option for additional 1,000 player terminals to be added to the Tribe’s allocation and total operating ceiling, in a stepped approach consistent with another tribe.
- Creates a new appendix that includes all Tribal licensing and State background provisions and authorizes eligibility & registration consistent with another tribe.
- Creates a definition appendix that includes defined terms used in the Compact and Appendices consistent with another tribe.
- Clarifies the Tribe’s commitment to the community through support to emergency services, government, and non-profit/charitable organizations.
- Adds a non-smoking room requirement if smoking is allowed in the gaming facility.
- Enhances responsible gaming provisions on training, self-exclusion, responsible gaming signage and posting, and self-imposed limits.
Next Steps:
- Formal notification about the proposed compact amendment was conveyed to the Governor, Legislature and others.
- The Senate Business, Trade & Economic Development Committee and House State Government & Tribal Relations Committee will hold a joint public hearing on July 22, 2026, 3:30 pm.
- The Gambling Commission will vote at its public meeting on August 28, 2026, and decide whether or not to forward the proposed compact amendment to the Governor.
- If the Commission votes to forward the Tribe’s amendment, it will be sent to the Tribal Chair for final consideration and signature.
- Once the Tribal Chair signs the amendment, it will be sent to the Governor for final consideration and signature.
- After obtaining the signatures of the Tribal Chair and the Governor, the Tribe will send the amendment to the Secretary of the United States Department of the Interior for consideration, signature, and publication in the Federal Register.
The Indian Gaming Regulatory Act of 1988 provides that Indian tribes may conduct Class III gaming activities on Indian lands when the gaming is conducted in conformance with a tribal-state compact. RCW 9.46.360 provides that the Gambling Commission negotiate those compacts on behalf of the state. The Tulalip Tribes of Washington’s tribal-state compact for Class III gaming was originally signed on August 2, 1991, and this is the twelfth amendment. Public comments regarding this compact amendment may be submitted to compactcomments@wsgc.wa.gov.