Of course, complaining about gambling is about as fruitless as refusing to split aces when playing blackjack — it’s not a good bet. According to the American Gaming Association, the industry’s revenue during the second quarter of 2021 was $13.6 billion. That set a record despite a lingering pandemic — and it only includes legalized gambling.

Yes, Americans are going to gamble, and Native American casinos have been waiting to add sports betting alongside their slot machines and craps tables. In 2018, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that prohibitions on sports gambling were unconstitutional; the Legislature followed by clearing the way for Native casinos to add a sportsbook. Southwest Washington Democrats and Republican Paul Harris voted in favor; other local Republicans were opposed.

The legislation is problematic, limiting sports gambling potentially to the state’s 29 tribal casinos while keeping cardrooms and state government standing on the banks of the revenue stream. The Oregon Lottery, on the other hand, has launched online and mobile sports betting (you must be within the state’s borders to access the program), and the state’s tribal casinos already have sportsbooks.

Native American casinos have been a boon for tribes in Washington and throughout the country. As Donald Ivy of the Coquille Indian Tribe says in a 2017 Oregon Public Broadcasting documentary titled “Broken Treaties”: “This is probably the first time the tribes have had the opportunity to have a place in the marketplace. That gets you invited to the Chamber of Commerce banquet. That gets you involved with the Rotary luncheon. That gets you involved and it gets you invited and it gets you on boards, and all of a sudden you begin to learn the rest of the world.”

That, however, does not mean that tribes should have a monopoly on sports wagering in Washington. As ilani and the state’s other tribal casinos prepare to lure sports fans, the Legislature should clear the way for the state government to be a player. Americans, after all, have an unquenchable thirst for gambling.