Washington’s Kalispel Tribe opens Northern Quest sportsbook

Sports fans in Spokane, Washington, can now place legal bets without having to travel out of town, thanks to the recent opening of a retail sportsbook at the Northern Quest Casino & Resort.

The Kalispel Tribe-owned facility launched its sports betting operations last week, making it the first casino to add the vertical to its roster in Spokane. The rollout commenced with an exclusive VIP event on Friday, with the official opening taking place on Saturday.

“We opened up for a VIP event on Friday night and to the public Saturday morning, and so far, the response has been great. A lot of people were really excited to see this open,” said the Executive Director of Casino Operations for Northern Quest, Kevin Zenishek.

“We got stopped almost daily. ‘When’s it going to open? When’s it going to open?’ We’re finally up and running. A lot of happy folks out here.”

Northern Quest is the third tribal gaming facility to rollout retail sports betting in Washington State, and its opening comes just two days after Angel of the Winds Casino in Arlington started accepting in-person bets.

What does the sportsbook at Northern Quest have to offer?

Northern Quest’s betting venue is called Turf Club Sports Book, and it is located in the area formerly occupied by the Turf Club Lounge. The Kalispel Tribe began remodeling the area in June, following successful compact amendment negotiations with the Washington State Gambling Commission.

The book features a plush seating area where patrons can sit and watch games on wall-to-wall HDTVs. The venue has both live teller windows and self-service betting kiosks, and there are additional kiosks spread throughout the casino floor. The establishment is also working on developing an app that patrons can use to place bets on mobile from any location within the property.

Customers visiting the Turf Club Sports Book can place a variety of sports bets including money line, futures, parlays, over/under, point spreads, props, and round robin bets. The operational hours of the sportsbook are 9 am to 10 pm Monday through Friday, and 7am to 10pm on Saturdays and Sundays.

Angel of the Winds Casino also open for sports betting

The Stillaguamish Tribe also joined Washington’s regulated sports betting market last week with the launch of a physical sportsbook at its Angel of the Winds Casino.

The Arlington-based establishment was the second to roll out retail sports wagering in the Evergreen State when it opened its sportsbook on December 1. The book is powered by IGT’s PlaySports technology.

In a statement about last week’s events, the Executive Director of the Washington Indian Gaming Association (WIGA), Rebecca George, said: “The launch of sports betting this week at a second and third tribal casino in Washington State is an important development for Washington State’s tribes.

“Tribal gaming revenues have a demonstrated track record of providing significant boosts to the overall economies of communities across Washington State. And the public can rest assured that the addition of sports betting at these well-established casinos will be closely regulated and handled responsibly.”

The Kalispel Tribe and Stillaguamish Tribe of Indians are among 16 Washington State gaming tribes that were green-lighted to add sports betting to their Class III licenses by the US Department of the Interior in September. The Snoqualmie Tribe entered the state’s market shortly after receiving approval by the DOI, making it the first Washington tribe to operate a sportsbook.

More tribes are on track to join the market soon, according to the Washington Indian Gaming Association.