Legislative hearing reviews proposed tribal-state compact amendments, commission to vote Aug. 28

The joint committees of the state legislature heard presentations on proposed amended and restated tribal-state Class III gaming compacts with the Tulalip and Cowlitz tribes and the Washington State Gambling Commission. The commission’s tribal-relations advisor said the agreements are at tentative status and will be on the commission’s special meeting agenda on Aug. 28, 2026, when the commission and its ex officios will accept public comment and vote on whether to forward the amendments to the governor or return them for further negotiation.

Joni Bridal, Tribal Relations Advisor for the Washington State Gambling Commission, summarized the changes: consolidation of 12 prior amendments into a restated compact, reorganization of appendices (including a new Definitions Appendix D and added Appendices L and W), and edits to problem-gambling and responsible-gaming provisions. “We are now at the hearing process,” Bridal said, and she reminded the committee that any amendment would only take effect after publication in the Federal Register.

The presentation listed specific substantive changes being proposed: increased wager limits (including provisions to allow certain table games and electronic table games to permit wagers up to $1,000), authorization for jackpot sharing between facilities, a stepped option to increase a tribe’s allocation by up to 1,000 player terminals, and a new, compact-level process to govern special higher-limit players. Bridal also noted that the amendment text would permit tribes to designate temporary gaming areas as part of their gaming floor and include a mechanism to adjust TLS ticket pricing by most-favored-nation treatment if the state lottery raises ticket prices.

Committee members were directed to the commission’s website for the full proposed text and public-comment options. Bridal said public comment can be provided at the Aug. 28 special commission meeting, by email to the address on the commission website, or during the commission’s standard public-comment process. The committee did not take any votes during the hearing; the commission vote remains scheduled for Aug. 28, 2026.