On April 23, 2025, the Governor's Office received an appeal from Jeremiah Ryan, relating to the Washington State Gambling Commission's denial of a petition to amend or repeal WAC 230-06-110 (Buying, selling, or transferring gambling or sports wagering equipment.), WAC 230-03-200 (Defining "gambling equipment."), and WAC 230-16-001 (Manufacturers, distributors, and gambling service suppliers must ensure representatives are licensed.) The Governor denied the appeal on June 9, 2025.

On April 23, 2025, the Governor's Office received the appeal you filed in response to the Washington State Gambling Commission's decision to deny your petition to amend WAC 230-06-110, WAC 230-03-200, and WAC 230-16-001. Under RCW 34.05.330(3), an agency's denial of a petition to repeal or amend a rule may be appealed to the Governor.

Your petition to the Gambling Commission requested amendments to rules regulating manufacturers of gaming equipment, noting that you were unsure of the exact rule but that "related rules" included WAC 230-06-110, WAC 230-03-200, WAC 230-16-001, and RCW 9.46.0237. Petition at 1. You stated that you were starting your own business, and that your proposed rule change would allow you to make your own card tables instead of buying them from a licensed supplier and thus save on start-up costs. Id.

The Commission's denial letter indicates that the Commission discussed your petition during its April 10, 2025, meeting and that you stated at the meeting that you are interested in using gambling equipment at fundraising events. Following this discussion, the Commission denied your petition. The Commission explains that it denied your petition because it is a "core regulatory priority for the Commission that gaming is conducted in a fair and safe manner free of a criminal element through strict regulation and control," and that reducing the oversight for gaming equipment—which enables gambling—would "undermine the ability of the Commission to ensure that gambling is operated in a fair and safe manner." Denial letter at 1.

The Governor's Office received your appeal of the Commission's decision on April 23, 2025. Your appeal petition requests "the removal of FRE [Fundraising Events] and RGA [Recreational Gaming Activities] from WAC 230-03-200(7)" so that you can design and create custom gaming tables for these activities. Appeal at 4. WAC 230-03-200 defines gambling activities to include devices and supplies used to conduct fundraising events and recreational gaming activities. WAC 230-03-200(7). You argue that fundraising events and recreational gaming activities use non-cash chips with no value and thus fall outside of state law's definition of gambling. Appeal at 3. But this argument is mistaken. Under Washington law, "gambling" means "staking or risking something of value upon the outcome of a contest of chance or a future contingent event not under the person's control or influence, upon an agreement or understanding that the person or someone else will receive something of value in the event of a certain outcome." RCW 9.46.0237. Chips with no monetary value are still "a thing of value" because they are a form of credit that allows a player to place another wager and continue the entertainment and privilege of playing a game without charge. See Kater v. Churchill Downs Inc., 886 F.3d 784, 787 (9th Cir. 2018) (holding that virtual chips used to play games and rewarded for winning games in virtual casino qualified as a "thing of value" under Washington law, and thus, the virtual casino fell within Washington's definition of an illegal gambling game). Thus, fundraising events and recreational gaming activities are properly regulated by the Commission.

The Commission determined that your proposal to reduce its oversight over card tables used for fundraising and recreational gaming by allowing you to use tables you design and create rather than tables purchased from a licensed supplier would undermine the Commission's ability to ensure gambling is operated in a fair and safe manner. After careful consideration, I am not persuaded that the Commission erred in denying your petition to amend WAC 230-06-110, WAC 230-03-200, and WAC 230-16-001. Your appeal petition is denied.