“It’s fun and comradery,” said Braxton Bagby, a longtime sports gambler placing his bets Wednesday.
AIRWAY HEIGHTS, Wash. — Excitement is building for the 2025 NCAA basketball tournament, with some people getting more involved by putting their money on the line.
The brackets are built and the bets are rolling in at Spokane Tribe Casino’s sportsbook. And employees say it’s expected to get even busier as Thursday’s tip-off for the Gonzaga men’s game approaches.
Since Washington legalized sports betting in 2021, it’s been big business for sportsbook writer Jeff Hodges.
“Three days before Super Bowl is when we opened,” he laughs. “Busy, busy!”
Every spring NCAA tournament draws out wagers from sports fans like Braxton Bagby. He’s been a March Madness gambler since he could legally place his bet, often traveling to Las Vegas to do so.
“Oh yeah, I’d rather do this because I can stay home, sit on my couch or something like that,” he said as he punched in his picks on one of 20 sports betting kiosks.
Bagby says it also been his family tradition since he was young, though without money on the line.
“We’d do a family bracket and loser has to cook for a week or something like that,” he said.
In Washington, sports bets must be placed at a tribal casino; online sports betting is illegal in Washington state. Idaho outlaws sports gambling entirely. And if you want to go all in on your favorite team, there’s one major rule you need to know.
“You cannot bet on a local college team, so Gonzaga for instance cannot be bet on,” Hodges said.
Washington state law prohibits bets for in-state collegiate teams and players. Bad news for Zags fans, though Bagby won’t let it ruin his good time.
“Just makes it more fun and it’s comradery too,” he said of bracket competitions. “Buddies come out and have a few cocktails, we have a good time.”
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