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Excitement is beginning to ramp up for Washington-based football — as in the state, not the nation’s capital. Stars are aligning for a transformative fall season starting in late August and early September.
Who stands to gain the most from this are local tribes though. Allow us to tell you how the Native American-owned casinos will become big winners this second half of the year.
New Era For Football Programs
The Pacific Northwest is known for “bucking the trends” compared to most of America, especially culturally. That’s true to an extent. Washington, for instance, is known for its affinity for soccer or more active sports like biking and hiking. But make no mistake about it, football is still king in Washington — both for viewing interest and NFL betting interest.
Washington has also had plenty to cheer about in recent memory. Of course, the Seattle Seahawks won a Super Bowl and came dangerously close to a second. Then there’s the Washington Huskies, who just made the College Football Playoff final. But Washington sports fans and bettors alike are hoping those good times continue despite massive changes that are ongoing.
Let’s begin with the Seahawks. They are embarking on their first season in 14 years without Pete Carroll manning the ship per se. He’s still an advisor, but Carroll gave up not only his head-coaching duties but Vice President of Operations too. The reality is, despite Carroll’s success — the most of any person in team history — it felt like it was time. His message wasn’t getting across and the results weren’t there either.
One era ends and another one begins with Mike Macdonald. He is about half of Carrol’s age — 37 to 72. The young coach is fresh off a two-year stint overseeing the Baltimore Ravens defense, one that was top-ranked in the league.
The same goes for the Huskies college program — albeit under different circumstances. As mentioned, Washington fell in last years CFP finale to Michigan. That success came at a cost though. Its head coach, Kalen DeBoer, was lured away to Alabama after Nick Saban retired.
Jedd Fisch is now the go-to man in Washington. Before this, he was a turnaround specialist at Arizona. They won a single game in his debut season in 2021 before going 10-3 last year.
This change comes at an interesting point where the Huskies are now in the Big-10 — no longer the PAC-12. With this comes increased competition. The likes of Washington State have been replaced by Michigan (they rematch in October) and Iowa.
See what we mean about there being an air of excitement in Washington, especially with those who bet? Everything has seemingly changed in one offseason — which makes betting all the more opportunistic. But speaking of opportunistic, there’s only one group of people in line to profit big time off this fresh excitement as we get into next.
Tribes Monopoly On Sports Betting Remains Entrenched
Contrary to popular belief, sports betting in Washington is legal — it’s just very, very limited. As the headline suggests, only Native American tribes have the right to legal sports betting in-state. This is in line with other states like the Florida, where the Seminole Tribe owns betting and only them.
Here is a long list of Washington casinos that allow sports betting:
- Angel of the Winds Casino – Arlington, WA
- Emerald Queen Casino – Tacoma and Fife, WA
- ilani Casino Resort – Ridgefield, WA
- Kalispel Casino – Cusick, WA
- Little Creek Casino Resort – Shelton, WA
- Lucky Eagle Casino – Rochester, WA
- Muckleshoot Casino – Auburn, WA
- Northern Quest Resort & Casino – Airway Heights, WA
- Quil Ceda Creek Casino – Tulalip, WA
- Swinomish Casino & Lodge – Anacortes, WA
- Tulalip Resort Casino – Tulalip, WA
This isn’t a comprehensive list (we’re missing several casinos), but it’s still a good starting point for in-state residents. Most of these casinos have partnerships with sportsbook operators, who run their betting operations. This includes the likes of Bet Rivers, BetMGM, DraftKings, FanDuel, and several others.
But here’s the thing: you can only make sports bets if within tribal land. And as you saw in our list of sportsbooks, most of these casinos are in the country side. Seattle residents — which is where the majority of the states lives and works around — can’t easily access sports betting.
This, of course, is not ideal. That’s why throngs of Washington bettors won’t be able to “scratch their itch” with betting this fall. Well, not at least through “regular” means. We have alternate options in the next section.
Go Offshore To Bet Freely In Washington
Using an offshore online sportsbook is the “best bet” for Washington bettors, plain and simple. Since these sites are based offshore, they don’t have to abid by the state’s stingy betting rules. Offshore sites can be used anywhere and everywhere — even outside Washington.
Start with one of the bookies listed below. Per our latest sportsbook reviews, these are the “best of the best” — particularly for football betting this Fall. You’ll be able to eagerly on the Seahawks and Huskies without limit at any one of these sites.
Best Betting Sites 