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Rule Petition Amend WAC 230-15-319 (2) (b) (ii) April 2026 – Request To Initiate Rule Making Tab X: April 2026 Commission Meeting Agenda. Statutory Authority 9.46.070 Who Proposed the Rule Change? Washington State Gambling Commission Staff Background For regulatory consistency and alignment with the rule-change request to WAC 230-15-320, staff request WAC 230-15-319 (2) (b) (ii), which requires house-banked card rooms to retain video of jackpot payouts of $3,000 or more for thirty days be amended to raise the threshold to $5,000. Currently, house-banked card rooms are required to have a closed-circuit television (CCTV) system with fixed cameras over each gambling table to view gambling activities and areas to include, but not limited to, cards, wagers, and chip tray. These fixed cameras over each table provide an overview shot of the entire table and are not zoomed in on individual player faces, cards, wagers, and/or payouts. These fixed camera views must be retained for seven days and recordings for jackpots of $3,000 or more must be retained for at least 30 days. Staff believe the amendment is necessary to align with rule change request to WAC 230-15-320 to increase the prize threshold from $3,000 to $5,000 for when surveillance rooms are required to use pan-tilt-zoom cameras (PTZ) to verify winning hands, amounts of the wager, amounts of the pay out and players who have won the prize. Attachments: • WAC 230-15-319 Policy Considerations WAC 230-15-319 (2) (b) (ii) requires video recordings documenting jackpot pay outs be kept for thirty days for prizes over $3,000. The recording and retention requirement for jackpots of $3,000 or more in WAC 230-15-319 was established in 2000. If the prize threshold in WAC 230-15-320 were increased to $5,000 and WAC 230-15-319 was also not increased to $5,000, this could cause confusion for house-banked card rooms and agents as far as what camera views they need to retain for thirty days. For example, currently, WAC’s 230-15-319 and 15-320 have the same triggering prize threshold, $3,000. So, when a surveillance observer identifies a prize that meets this triggering threshold, they retain for thirty days the PTZ recording required to be captured by WAC 230-15-320 to meet the recording requirement in WAC 230-15-319. The PTZ recording provides better coverage detail than the fixed camera view. If the PTZ recording of jackpot prizes in WAC 230-15-320 were raised to $5,000 and the recording requirement for recordings in WAC 230-15-319 remained at $3,000, there would be some situations where the surveillance observer would only retain for thirty days a table overview shot (fixed camera view) of a jackpot and not the PTZ. For example, any prize between $3,000 and $4,999. Regulatory Considerations Since there are other rules in WAC 230-15 that utilize a prize threshold of $5,000 as a basis for regulatory requirements, it seems prudent to align the prize thresholds within WAC 230-15-319 to make it easier for licensee compliance and regulatory consistency. An increase in the prize threshold to $5,000 will not diminish the ability for dispute resolution. Technology related to surveillance equipment has advanced significantly since WAC 230-15-319 was first developed. Card rooms now utilize digital surveillance systems with high-definition cameras to view gambling tables. WAC rules require house-banked card rooms to retain at least seven days of all required camera views. However, many card rooms retain recordings far longer than required. Staff do not anticipate additional staff time or more agents needed for inspections to test for compliance with a higher prize threshold of $5,000. Staff Recommendation Staff is recommending the commission initiate rulemaking to the recording and retention requirements in WAC 230-15-319 to align with changes to WAC 230-15-320.