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TUKWILA, Wash. – A Washington card room owner argued that tribal casinos have unfairly monopolized sports betting and is suing state and federal officials for the right to get in on the game. But local tribes — including his own — say his suit threatens their economies and sovereignty.
“There’s zero circumstances in which I’d settle,” Maverick Gaming CEO Eric Persson told Fox News. If his suit makes it to the U.S. Supreme Court like he expects, a ruling in his favor could affect sports betting in states far beyond Washington, according to a PlayUSA analysis.
“I have the resources to go all the way, and so do they. So there’s going to be a battle,” Persson continued. “We’re going have a lot of fun, and I’m going to win. That’s what makes it fun.”
Maverick Gaming owner Eric Persson is suing the state and federal government over what he says is an unfair tribal monopoly on sports betting.
(Hannah Ray Lambert/Fox News Digital)
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Maverick Gaming owns about 20 neighborhood card rooms throughout the state, properties Persson compares to “Cheers” bars. They generally have a bar, restaurant and up to 15 tables where customers can play poker, blackjack, baccarat and other games.
But the flashing lights and jangling music of slot machines are absent, reserved for the state’s 29 tribal casinos. And — for now at least — so is sports betting.
When the U.S. Supreme Court struck down a federal law banning sports gambling in 2018, the states were given the opportunity to create their own rules. Two years later, the Washington legislature decided to allow sports wagering on Native American lands only, with proponents saying tribal governments were well equipped to oversee responsible gaming while also avoiding widespread expansion.
More than 30 states have legalized sports wagering since a 2018 Supreme Court decision struck down a federal ban on the practice, according to…
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