High-stakes poker player and CEO of Maverick Gaming Eric Persson alleged that gaming regulators in the state of Washington are biased toward tribal casinos.
At a Washington State Gambling Commission meeting on May 8, Persson and other card room operators and workers argued that the industry has been over-regulated while tribal operations have not faced the same degree of scrutiny.
Washington is one of the strictest states in the country regarding gambling. It prohibits all forms of online gambling and is one of the few states where sweepstakes casinos are banned. As a result, brick-and-mortar operations receive all of the state’s gambling revenue.
Allegations of Differing Standards
The card rooms’ objections included inconsistency with the state’s self-exclusion program, enforcing the rules at card rooms while those same excluded players could gamble freely at tribal casinos. According to one speaker, since legalizing card rooms in 1997, the number has dropped from about 100 to 40.
Another speaker alleged that Commissioners Anders Ibsen and Michael Charles may have conflicts of interest. The speaker noted that Ibsen is running for Tacoma mayor and has accepted campaign funds from tribal gaming groups, which he is in charge of regulating.
“This raises serious concerns about impartiality and fairness,” he noted. “Meanwhile, commissioner Charles claims to care about the jobs and livelihoods of card room employees, yet consistently votes against every petition aimed at allowing house-banked card rooms to grow, always siding instead with tribal competitors.”
Ethics Complaint Filed
Persson also spoke on the issue at the meeting and echoed similar concerns. He expressed his belief that conflicts of interest on the commission have led to the loss of employee wages, jobs, and critical tax revenue for public services.
“Commissioner Charles and Ibsen are political appointees who have documented financial interests with tribal nations in our state that are business competitors of Maverick Gaming,” he noted. “Their actions are deliberately disadvantageous to real jobs and a regulated business like any other in our home state.”
Maverick owns 24 card rooms and casinos in Washington and Persson announced that he has filed an ethics complaint with the attorney general’s office outlining his concerns. He alleged that both commissioners were in violation of the state’s “appearance of fairness doctrine” and another state regulation that “bars public officials from activities incompatible with their public duties.”
Persson added that the commissioners would be held accountable.
Another speaker pointed to Commission Vice Chair Sarah Lawson’s work with tribal governments and entities as another possible conflict of interest.
Another major complaint was that on-site sports betting was only allowed at tribal casinos, meaning illegal wagering would continue flourishing in the state.
Commissioners resisted some of the criticism. At one point, Lawson told those in attendance to take their criticism of commissioners up with the governor.
Persson’s main source of income is his stake in Maverick Gaming, but he is also an avid high-stakes poker player. While he has played cash games for quite some time, Persson gained mainstream notoriety after insulting Phil Hellmuth during their match in the PokerGO Heads-Up Showdown in 2022.
Photo courtesy of PokerGO/Antonio Abrego
