Gambling on the Rise in Washington State

This week a study by the Spectrum Gaming Group revealed that gambling is on the rise in Washington State, and that there is the potential for a strong online betting market, even though the state has some of the toughest online betting laws in the country.

The study revealed that they believe gambling Gross Gaming Revenues will reach $3.5 billion by 2020, which is 37% higher than what is currently brought in. The study also revealed that the state's population is set to rise by 5.3% and that many of the state's potential players are located within an hour of a local land casino.

Spectrum also stated that it believes Washington has the possibility to have a thriving online betting market, which could rival New Jersey in terms of performance.

In the study the Spectrum Group noted: "In our opinion, Washington has similar demographic factors to New Jersey, such as household income and population over 21 years old. As such, with a reasonable tax rate (15% or less) and an offering that includes slot machines, table games and poker, Spectrum estimates the potential for Washington iGaming GGR to be approximately $100 million."

"iGaming revenue should, in our opinion, be predominantly incremental to overall GGR for land-based casino operators if the regulations require iGaming operations to be provided by licensed Washington Indian casinos or cardrooms."

Those interested in reading the report in full can do so here.