BLYN — A state ban on gambling with electronic benefit cards at tribal gaming sites would change nothing at 7 Cedars Casino.
Likewise, gambling would continue as usual at the Elwha River Casino west of Port Angeles.
An agreement reached late last year among all but two of the state’s treaty tribes says all cash-dispensing and point-of-sale casino machines will refuse to accept electronic benefit cards.
The Washington State Gambling Commission will vote on the compact Feb. 13.
Both the Jamestown S’Klallam and Lower Elwha Klallam tribes already prohibit using EBT cards to play or dispense cash at their respective casinos, representatives said Wednesday.
The welfare cards are intended to help poor people buy food.
“We had agreed to that several years ago,” said Jerry Allen, chief executive officer of 7 Cedars Casino east of Sequim.
“Maybe we were just at the front end of that awareness down there at the state Gambling Commission,” he added.
“We try to keep our business in a positive light.”
The same policy holds at the Lower Elwha Klallam’s casino west of Port Angeles, said tribal chairwoman Frances Charles.
“It’s nothing new for us,” she said Wednesday. “I don’t recall it ever being an issue in our casino.”
The compact also lifts a limit on the number of slot machines tribes can operate.
The number of machines won’t change in the near future at the Clallam County casinos, Allen and Charles said.
Although the agreement boosts each of the 27 tribes’ allocation of player terminals from 975 to 1,075, neither the Lower Elwha nor the Jamestown S’Klallam plan to install any more than they have now.
Seven Cedars Casino has nearly 580 machines, its website says, while the Elwha River Casino website says it has more than 100 machines.
However, they may lease their rights to their additional machines to other tribes, such as the Muckleshoots or Tulalips, who operate much larger casinos in metropolitan areas.
“There was no ability for the major markets with great, healthy economies; they couldn’t grow anymore,” Allen said.
“We won’t add any [at 7 Cedars.] The extra hundred we could get would basically go into our bank” to lease to other tribes.
“Tribes such as the Quileute at LaPush and the Hoh west of Forks likewise may lease their allocations.”
Following next week’s Senate hearing, the Gambling Commission will vote on whether to forward the proposed agreement to Gov. Jay Inslee.
If the compact gets the commission’s approval, it will be sent to each tribe’s chair for signature.
If the governor and tribal chairs agree, it will be forwarded to the U.S. Department of the Interior for publication in the Federal Register.
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Reporter James Casey can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 5074, or at jcasey@peninsuladailynews.com.
