Next year’s March Madness likely to be even madder: The Washington Legislature approved a bill allowing betting on in-state college teams

OLYMPIA – The only thing stopping local bettors from wagering on the Gonzaga Bulldogs next year is a stroke of Gov. Bob Ferguson’s pen.

The Legislature has approved a bill that would allow Washington residents to bet at tribal casinos on the state’s college sports teams. Under the measure, bettors would be allowed to wager on the outcome of games or matches featuring schools from Washington. Betting on the performance of individual athletes, however, would not be allowed.

The law would take effect 90 days after the Legislature adjourns, meaning fans would not be able to place bets on the Zags during the upcoming March Madness. But they would be able to bet on the Apple Cup slated for Sept. 5 in Seattle, the first game of the season for both the Cougars and the Huskies.

The bill previously cleared the Washington state Senate on a 41-8 vote, and passed the House of Representatives 70-26 on Friday. On Tuesday, the Senate concurred with the changes the House of Representatives made, sending the bill to the governor’s desk for final approval.

The House of Representatives has further prohibited bettors from placing wagers on in-game coaching decisions or officiating calls.

“What we’re doing with this bill is we’re saying you can now place sports wagers on tribal lands for in-state collegiate teams like Washington State University and the University of Washington,” Rep. Sharlett Mena, D-Tacoma, said of final passage on Friday. “But we’re also adding critical accountability measures for anti-harassment to ensure that our athletes are safe.”

Threatening coaches, players or athletes over a wager on a game or competition will now be considered a gross misdemeanor. Those convicted of such a crime will now be prohibited from placing future wagers.

The bill comes as sports betting takes a sharp rise in popularity. According to an October poll from Pew Research, 22% of adults said they had personally bet money on sports in the past year, up from 19% in 2021. At the same time, a growing number of adults fear the effects that legal gambling could have.

The same poll found that 43% of Americans believe it’s bad that sports betting is legal in some fashion in much of the country, up from 34% in 2022.

The American Gaming Association reported last month that the sports betting industry had $16.96 billion in revenue last year. The association further said that Americans legally bet $166.94 billion on sports in 2025, which was an 11% increase over 2024. According to the report, wagers placed through prediction markets have diverted more than $500 million in potential sports betting tax revenue.

According to the Financial Times, sports betting makes up more than 90% of the activity on one such site, Kalshi.

Representatives from many of the state’s tribes testified in support of the legislation during a Jan. 22 committee hearing and cited the current ability to place bets on in-state collegiate sports. Ron Allen, chair of the Jamestown S’klallam Tribe, told members of the Senate Business Committee that similar bets are already allowed in the state through commodity futures trading markets.

“That’s a separate matter, but this makes it legal for Washington state,” said Allen, who chairs the Washington Indian Gaming Association. Allen said the association, which represents the state’s 29 tribes, also supports the legislation.

State Rep. Shelley Kloba, D-Kenmore, who also serves as a nonvoting member of the Washington State Gambling Commission, said while she respects tribal sovereignty, the legislation increases the risk of gambling addiction and athlete harassment.

“The level of harassment and threats against student -athletes is increasing,” Kloba said Friday. “It is intense, and it is ugly.”

Kloba said the bill provides the “flimsiest protections” for athletes without providing additional money for enforcement.

“Why would we expand sports betting when we’ve seen an increase in students participating in sports betting?” Kloba said.

As the bill worked its way through the Legislature, college representatives voiced concern over athlete safety. Chris Mullick, senior director of state relations at Washington State University, said during a Jan. 22 committee hearing that “there’s nothing in this bill but trouble for WSU and our student -athletes.”

Mullick cited a November survey of 6,800 student -athletes conducted by the NCAA that found that 36% of Division I men’s basketball players reported being harassed on social media by bettors in the past year, while 29% reported an in-person interaction.

“This is a real problem, and expanding gambling in Washington is not the solution, in our view,” Mullick said. “This is not a mere shift of gambling from the black market to the regulated market; this is a dramatic expansion that opens a massive new market to wagers on WSU games. All of the benefits will land with others; all of the consequences will lie with us.”