In Stadium Betting at T-Mobile Park is Coming… Eventually.

The legalization of sports betting in states has increased dramatically over the last year. For the state of Washington, sports betting was legalized just over a year and a half ago on March 25, 2020. The type of sports betting that was legalized is specifically tribal-only, not mobile. With mobile sports and non-tribal land betting not fully legalized yet in Washington, it presents a hurdle for those who are hoping to place bets while in attendance at T-Mobile Park.

Earlier this year, it was announced that the Washington Nationals came to an agreement with BetMGM to be their exclusive sports betting provider. Only a few months thereafter was the official launch of “the first online sports betting app tethered to a Major League Baseball venue” there at Nationals Park. There are plans to have an onsite sportsbook as well, but that has not come to fruition at this point.

So, you may be wondering: What does this have to do with our Mariners?

In-Stadium Betting at T-Mobile Park is Coming… Eventually.

Well, if the Mariners are wanting to jump into the realm of sports betting and include that as part of the experience at T-Mobile Park, there are still a few hoops they must jump through.

Using the Nationals as an example, the Mariners must first have the authorization from the state to provide any type of betting on site. However, sports betting is currently only legal on Tribal lands. Additionally, the state has not legalized mobile sports betting either. Senate Bill 5212 was introduced in January to legalize statewide mobile sports betting in card rooms and horse racetracks. But beyond that, there has not been much momentum towards progress on the betting front.

T-Mobile Park is set up so perfectly for in-stadium betting. Just imagine having a sportsbook down where the ‘Pen is. Ryan Divish I’m sure would be far happier seeing the AXE soaked cesspool of disgust swapped out for a sportsbook where much more expensive mistakes could be made. The “Refuse to Lose” mantra could be hung over the entry of the sportsbook just daring fans to continue placing bets on different games.

Unfortunately, at this point, there seem to be far too many hurdles in place for us to be able to see true sports betting inside of T-Mobile Park within the next few years. However, it would be interesting to see how creative the Mariners could be if or when on-site and mobile sports betting does become legalized in the state of Washington. For now, let’s just focus on bringing the playoffs back to T-Mobile.