Playing Smart

The state gambling industry has exploded during the past decade, from reporting $476 million in net receipts in 1996 to almost $1.7 billion last year.

Washington residents are gaming in unprecedented numbers. Whether playing punchboards, buying Lotto tickets, betting on the ponies or at tribal casinos, enormous sums of money are changing hands.

Federal and state laws put safeguards in place to ensure that games are run legally and fairly. This year Senate Democrats sponsored legislation that brought state law into alignment with federal law so that prosecutions of the most egregious Internet operators would proceed smoothly.

Congress recently passed legislation that represents a major step toward regulating offshore enterprises that operate outside of U.S. laws and pose enormous risk to gamblers. The law prohibits banks and other financial institutions from transferring funds to cover Internet gambling bets.

Yet with the proliferation of types of gaming and the number of players, opportunities for abuse still exist. It’s why the Legislature formed a joint committee on gambling policy. Members of the Senate and House labor & commerce committees are examining the implications of this explosion on our state’s ability to provide adequate oversight, legislative role in setting gambling policy (apart from the state Gambling Commission) and treatment services for problem gamblers.

On the state level, we want to continue to ensure that adults who gamble do so in games that are carefully regulated, with licensed dealers and in safe surroundings. We also are working to make sure that those with gambling problems are able to receive adequate treatment, paid for with gambling proceeds.

Play legally, play smart and know your limit: Good choices shouldn’t be left to a toss of the dice.