Frequently Asked Questions

Yes. The employer or designee must sign each application. Reference WAC 230-04-124, 230-04-140 and 230-04-145.

As a new applicant, you must wait ten (10) days from the received date of your completed application and have full fees submitted before beginning work as a CRE. If the application is incomplete you will hear from a Licensing Technician and it will also appear on the internet as “incomplete”. You may not begin working as a CRE until your application has been completed. If you are transferring or adding an employer while the original application is still pending, you must submit a transfer application and fees. You may not begin working at either location until after the 10-day waiting period.

Beginning January 2004, applicants for gambling licenses will not be required to attend instructor-led Mandatory Training classes as the only way to satisfy the requirements of WAC 230-04-020(5)(b). Instead of instructor-led classes, the training handout will be mailed to applicants along with an affidavit to sign and return stating that the applicant has read the contents of the handout and understands they are responsible to comply with all the gambling law and rules. If applicants have questions, they should contact their local gambling agent.

Web based training on the agency website will remain updated and the PowerPoint instruction slides for bingo will be added to the site, as an aid for licensees who want to review rules. Furthermore, the most current version of all training handouts are on our website at http://www.wsgc.wa.gov/training/handouts.asp.

Current licensees that do not have Internet access may request a copy of training handouts from our agency receptionist (800) 345-2529 ext.3440.

Classroom instruction for license applicants will remain available through the first quarter of 2004 and then will be discontinued. Staff is reviewing the possibility of offering quarterly update instruction for licensees in the future.

Residency is your physical location.

Simply do the best you can at recalling this information. At a minimum, list the city and state.

No. Mail all copies of identification and photos. Photographed images do not show up legibly when faxed. The US Postal Service provides a greater degree of security when submitting identification, such as a driver’s license.

Status can be checked on-line at www.wsgc.wa.gov. If you get a message that indicates “no record”, then the application probably has not been received or in the system. Otherwise, you will receive information about the status of your license application through the on-line system. Finally, you may contact the Individuals Section by telephone to gain status information. However, we prefer that you use the on-line system so that the Licensing Staff can use the time to process applications.

Yes, but the card room employee must have a current license and the employer must submit a transfer application (GC4-194) with $58.00. The card room employee may begin working when a completed transfer application and fees are put in the mail. If the application is incomplete when WSGC receives it, a Customer Service Specialist will contact both the employer and employee and the employee is not authorized to work until we receive the missing item(s). If the applicant transfers or adds another employer and the original application is still pending, a transfer application and fees must be submitted. The applicant cannot work until after the 10-day waiting period.

If you are starting an employee and they have a current card room employee license, you must submit a transfer application and the $58.00 transfer fee.  If you are terminating an employee, you must fax a Personnel Termination Notification (PTN) to the number specified on the form within ten business days or the employee's termination, per WAC 230-04-142.

If your license expires, you must submit a new application and you must not operate any gambling activity until a new license is issued, per WAC 230-06-125.

Payment for license fees are to made in either cash, cashiers check, money order or personal check.  We do not accept payment by credit card at this time. If you come into our office to pay for your license fee with cash, we ask that you have the exact amount.

If your check is returned as NSF after it has been deposited twice, then the license that you received will become invalid. You may not conduct any gambling activity until you have paid the license fee with a cashiers check, money order, or cash (if paid over the counter) at the Lacey headquarters office. In addition, there will be a $30.00 NSF check charge that must be paid at the time you submit the licensing fees. If you submitted an application and your check is returned, no further work will be done on your file until all fees are paid along with a $30.00 NSF check charge, per WAC 230-04-270.

Please see this Adobe PDF attachment provided by the Washington State Patrol.

If the applicant has lived out of Washington, even while maintaining a residence in Washington while deployed or stationed out of Washington for a total of six months in the last ten years, the applicant must pay the out-of-state fees. The difference in fee is the amount we must pay Washington State Patrol (WSP) to process and forward our applicant fingerprints to the US Department of Justice (DOJ). WSP is the state repository for all fingerprint records. We submit fingerprints to WSP and DOJ to help us evaluate an applicant's criminal conviction record. An applicant for a gambling license can be denied if the applicant has a disqualifying criminal conviction record. We often receive information from DOJ that was not available to us through WSP and this includes information on service personnel who have been fingerprinted by military police for crimes committed while in uniform. This is why our operating rules and the Revised Code of Washington does not make a distinction for an applicant who is deployed out-of-state for military service.