WSGC denies petition to allow early removal from voluntary self‑exclusion after petitioner’s connection problems

The Washington State Gambling Commission on March 12 denied a petition asking the agency to allow participants to remove themselves from the statewide voluntary self‑exclusion program before a selected term expires.

Tricia Galyan, legislative and rules manager, summarized the petition's request to add a section to WAC 2‑30‑23 allowing participants to revoke voluntary self‑exclusion before their selected term (1, 3, 5 or 10 years). Galyan explained the current rules state that once enrolled, a participant "cannot be removed from the program prior to the initial selected period of enrollment for voluntary self exclusion." She also cited RCW authority (RCW 9‑46‑071) granting the commission discretion to establish the program and its processes.

Staff attempted to provide translation and testing support for the petitioner to speak remotely, but the petitioner dropped from the connection and did not supply written comments by the stated deadline. The chair moved Tab 1 to the end of the meeting to allow written comment; staff later reported no written comment was received.

When the commission returned to Tab 1, a commissioner moved to deny the petition "due to Washington state's self exclusion rules being aligned with those of other states, and also not allowing people to remove themselves from the list." The motion was seconded and passed with the commissioners voting 'aye.' The commission's action was procedural: staff had explained the options of initiating rulemaking or denying the petition, and the panel chose denial based on existing program design and peer‑state alignment.

The transcript shows staff referenced RCW 9‑46‑071 and relevant WAC sections during the discussion. The commission also noted it would take action within the 60‑day statutory window and had previously offered initiation of rulemaking as an option if the commission had chosen to pursue that process.