Plans for Controversial Off-Reservation Casino in Washington State Moving Forward
Credit: Department of Defense
Plans for an off-reservation tribal casino in southern Washington appear to be moving forward despite the protests of nearby tribes, who say the planned property infringes upon their own casinos.
The Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation, located in North Central Washington, already owns and operates three casinos, including one off-reservation property. According to the terms of the Tribe’s compact with the state, it can open as many as three more.
The Colville want to construct a new casino in the Pasco area, located about 30 minutes from the Oregon border. It’s about three hours from the Colville Reservation and would be much closer to tribal casinos owned by the Yakama and the Umatilla.
Those tribes are less than pleased with the idea and say it violates their rights dating to an 1855 treaty.
However, the federal government appears to be on board with the proposal. According to a local news outlet, it is preparing an “exhaustive environmental review,” a “key step” in the application process.
Still, even if the Colville receive federal approval, a final hurdle remains. They must also garner the support of Gov. Bob Ferguson.
Washington’s Complicated, Polarized Gambling Framework
Washington’s approach to regulated gambling is a bit of a patchwork. Its retail gambling properties are split between Class III tribal casinos with full Vegas-style setups (slots and table games) and more limited commercial card clubs. These tend to be clustered in gambling-friendly cities and counties, because local governments have the authority to ban these businesses.
Washington cleared the way for tribal casinos with its first compacts in the 1990s. There are now 29 tribal casino properties in the state. They generated $2.85 billion of the state’s $4 billion gambling win in 2024, according to the state commission.
There are at least 20 non-tribal cardrooms that have local permission to operate. These entities are similar in scope, if not size, to those in California. That is, they can deal card games such as poker, blackjack, and Pai Gow. They cannot offer slots or dice.
Whereas a heated battle has emerged over house-banked card games in California, the Washington cardrooms have explicit permission to deal such games. Locals say the rooms often serve good food and have the advantage of being non-smoking.
Meanwhile, hardly any states have a less friendly stance toward online gambling than Washington. It was among the first states to disallow online poker and daily fantasy sports (DFS). Sweepstakes sites don’t run there. Washington even sued several “freemium” gambling apps earlier this year, including a free-to-play poker app with WSOP branding.
Yakama, Umatilla Tribes Will Look to Stop New Casino
The Colville have local support for their proposed casino. That’s critical, since cities and counties can close the door on any gambling business, and the tribes only have free rein to build on their reservations.
However, support doesn’t appear to extend far beyond the municipality.
State senators and county commissioners from nearby communities lobbied local leaders against the proposed Colville property. They cited the closeness of the Yakama Reservation and its Legends Hotel Casino in Toppenish, about an hour to the west. They asked that the Colville construct any new property on its own territory.
“We urge you to reject authorizing expansion of gaming in Yakama treaty territory without the Yakama Nations’ express consent,” they wrote.
The Umatilla in Oregon has also protested against the proposed Colville casino. Like the Yakama, they operate a gambling property, Wildhorse Resort & Casino, about an hour away. Wildhorse is located near Pendleton, Oregon.
The environmental impact statement (EIS) doesn’t constitute approval for the project, which aims to build a 175,000-square-foot property complete with a 200-room hotel and an event center. An alternate plan could see a smaller property approved without the latter two amenities.
Conversely, it could still recommend a development with no gambling or no development at all on the empty land. However, preparing the statement was a necessary step for the project to move forward, so it represents progress.
As for the governor’s approval, that’s also an unknown part of the equation. The Tri-City Herald noted that prior Gov. Jay Inslee readily approved tribal casinos. Gov. Ferguson, who took office in 2025, doesn’t have as clear a track record on gambling expansion. He did recently approve a bill that expanded sports betting to allow prop bets on in-state college teams.
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