House-banked card rooms

AN ACT Relating to allowing for the use of centralized 1
surveillance systems by house-banked card rooms; adding new sections 2
to chapter 9.46 RCW; and creating a new section. 3
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:4
NEW SECTION. Sec. 1. The legislature finds that surveillance 5
technologies currently utilized by house-banked card rooms licensed 6
by the Washington state gambling commission must be modernized to 7
leverage advancements in technology that enhance the safety and 8
security of patrons, employees, and businesses. Outdated systems fail 9
to provide the level of oversight, efficiency, and accountability 10
required to address modern security challenges effectively.11
The legislature further finds that centralized surveillance 12
systems for entities operating multiple locations offer significant 13
benefits. These systems streamline operations, reduce redundancies, 14
and ensure the consistent application of security protocols across 15
all sites. Centralized platforms allow management to monitor multiple 16
locations in real time from a single hub, improving oversight, 17
enhancing accountability, and ensuring compliance with safety and 18
regulatory standards. 19
Moreover, the legislature recognizes that modernized surveillance 20
systems play a critical role in preventing criminal activities, 21
S-0739.1
SENATE BILL 5512
State of Washington 69th Legislature 2025 Regular Session
By Senators Boehnke and King
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identifying potential hazards, and resolving safety issues swiftly. 1
High-quality video footage collected through centralized systems not 2
only supports timely investigations but also provides clear and 3
actionable evidence for enforcement, improving the integrity and 4
trustworthiness of the regulatory process. 5
Therefore, the legislature intends to empower card room operators 6
with multiple locations to adopt centralized surveillance systems, 7
ensuring that regulatory frameworks evolve to meet the demands of 8
modern technology, strengthen public and workplace safety, and uphold 9
fair and transparent business practices. 10
NEW SECTION. Sec. 2. A new section is added to chapter 9.46 RCW 11
to read as follows: 12
The definitions in this section apply throughout this chapter 13
unless the context clearly requires otherwise. 14
(1) "Centralized surveillance monitoring location" means a secure 15
room at a licensed house-banked card room with remote access to 16
surveillance systems of multiple licensed card rooms owned and 17
controlled by the same parent company. Access to surveillance systems 18
includes, but is not limited to, the viewing of video data signals 19
from cameras. 20
(2) "Closed-circuit television" means a surveillance system that 21
uses wired surveillance cameras connected to equipment secured in a 22
surveillance room for monitoring and recording purposes and which 23
video signals are not publicly distributed or accessible.24
(3) "Surveillance room" means a secure location or locations on 25
the premises of a licensed card room that houses a portion of the 26
surveillance system including monitors, digital recording equipment, 27
servers, switches, and/or ancillary equipment. 28
(4) "Surveillance system" means a system containing video 29
cameras, monitors, digital recording equipment, servers, switches, 30
and/or ancillary equipment. 31
NEW SECTION. Sec. 3. A new section is added to chapter 9.46 RCW 32
to read as follows: 33
House-banked and class F card game licensees must receive written34
approval from the commission before utilizing or operating a 35
centralized surveillance monitoring location. The following 36
conditions must be met: 37
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(1) Before a house-banked or class F card room is allowed to be 1
monitored by a centralized surveillance monitoring location, they 2
must submit internal controls to the commission in the format 3
determined by the commission; 4
(2) The house-banked card room that houses the centralized 5
surveillance monitoring location must submit internal controls to the 6
commission in the format determined by the commission; and7
(3) The centralized surveillance monitoring location must pass a 8
preoperational inspection conducted by the commission.9
NEW SECTION. Sec. 4. A new section is added to chapter 9.46 RCW 10
to read as follows: 11
Any house-banked or class F card room being monitored by a 12
centralized surveillance monitoring location must have a closed-13
circuit television system on their premises and adhere to all 14
applicable rules. 15
NEW SECTION. Sec. 5. A new section is added to chapter 9.46 RCW 16
to read as follows: 17
Centralized surveillance monitoring locations must:18
(1) Be located on the licensed premises of a house-banked card 19
room; 20
(2) Have at least one monitoring station for each surveillance 21
department employee working in the room. A "monitoring station" is a 22
designated area for one surveillance department employee to work at 23
which includes at least: 24
(a) A computer connected to one or more monitored house-banked 25
card rooms that is capable of pulling up all cameras of a monitored 26
house-banked card room and reviewing playback of recorded video to 27
include forward, reverse, slow motion, and frame-by-frame;28
(b) A controller to utilize pan tilt zoom cameras. The 29
centralized surveillance monitoring location may have pan tilt zoom 30
override capabilities over the monitored house-banked card room's 31
surveillance room; 32
(c) Video monitors to view surveillance cameras and ability to 33
listen to required audio; and 34
(d) A dedicated method of communication to communicate between 35
monitored house-banked card rooms and centralized surveillance 36
monitoring locations; 37
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(3) Have a sufficient number of video monitors at each monitoring 1
station to simultaneously view multiple gambling tables, the 2
cashier's cage, and count room activities; 3
(4) Have an alarm device that signals centralized surveillance 4
monitoring location employees when any count room door of a monitored 5
house-banked card room is opened; 6
(5) Have an alarm device that signals centralized surveillance 7
monitoring location employees when the cage cashier manually triggers 8
a silent alarm in the cage of a monitored house-banked card room;9
(6) Have an alarm device that signals centralized surveillance 10
monitoring location employees when any surveillance room door of a 11
monitored house-banked card room is opened; and 12
(7) Have a failure notification system for each monitored house-13
banked card room that provides immediate notification for any digital 14
recording equipment system failure. 15
NEW SECTION. Sec. 6. A new section is added to chapter 9.46 RCW 16
to read as follows: 17
The licensee who houses the centralized surveillance monitoring 18
location must ensure that at least two surveillance department 19
employees are present in the room and monitoring activities whenever 20
one or more monitored house-banked card rooms are conducting gambling 21
and during the count process. In addition, the licensee must:22
(1) Control access to the room so that only licensed surveillance 23
department employees use the room. Approved supervisory or management 24
personnel may also enter the room to review activities, but only if 25
they are licensed at each house-banked card room the centralized 26
surveillance monitoring location monitors; and 27
(2) Have at least one surveillance department employee for every 28
15 house-banked gambling tables open for play with at least one 29
dedicated surveillance department employee to observe the 30
transporting of drop boxes of a house-banked card room or when the 31
count takes place. For example, if there are seven house-banked card 32
rooms being monitored with 45 house-banked gambling tables open for 33
play then three surveillance department employees would be required. 34
However, if there were also four soft counts taking place at the same 35
time, at least four surveillance department employees would be 36
required in the room. 37
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NEW SECTION. Sec. 7. A new section is added to chapter 9.46 RCW 1
to read as follows: 2
Licensed locations that house a centralized surveillance 3
monitoring location must ensure that: 4
(1) Surveillance department employees are licensed at each house-5
banked card room monitored by the centralized surveillance monitoring 6
location; 7
(2) A sign-in log, in the format determined by the commission, is 8
maintained to document anyone entering or leaving the room;9
(3) Surveillance department employees keep a log of all 10
surveillance activities, in the format determined by the commission, 11
for each house-banked card room monitored by the centralized 12
surveillance monitoring location; 13
(4) Breaks for surveillance department employees are limited to 14
30 minutes or less per shift; and 15
(5) Any time a winning wager, a jackpot, or bonus pay out greater 16
than $3,000 is won, surveillance department employees use pan-tilt-17
zoom cameras to verify: 18
(a) Winning hands; 19
(b) Amounts of the wager; 20
(c) Amounts of the pay out; and 21
(d) Players who won the prize. 22
NEW SECTION. Sec. 8. A new section is added to chapter 9.46 RCW 23
to read as follows: 24
In the event that the centralized surveillance monitoring 25
location is unable to view any camera that covers required gambling 26
areas at a monitored house-banked card room, the following conditions 27
must be met: 28
(1) The licensed location must immediately notify supervisory 29
personnel at the monitored house-banked card room;30
(2) The monitored house-banked card room must shut down gambling 31
operations in specific areas of the card room not covered by a 32
required camera until the camera feed is restored. Alternatively, if 33
the onsite surveillance room is capable of viewing the required 34
camera, the monitored house-banked card room may operate in the 35
specific area once a licensed employee, as approved in the internal 36
controls, staffs the surveillance room. For example, if a gambling 37
table is not covered by a surveillance camera, the monitored house-38
banked card room must shut down the gambling table but may continue 39
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to operate other gambling tables at the card room where the 1
surveillance system is operational; 2
(3) The centralized surveillance monitoring location must 3
document the disruptions in a malfunction log in the format 4
determined by the commission; and 5
(4) The licensed location must report the issue to the commission 6
within 24 hours. 7
NEW SECTION. Sec. 9. A new section is added to chapter 9.46 RCW 8
to read as follows: 9
House-banked and class F card room licensees that utilize a10
centralized surveillance monitoring location must:11
(1) Have a surveillance camera installed in the surveillance room 12
or rooms that views the surveillance equipment to include the digital 13
recording equipment, computers, and monitors. The centralized 14
surveillance monitoring location must have remote access to the 15
camera viewing the onsite surveillance room or rooms; and16
(2) Grant the commission access to the surveillance room within 17
30 minutes. A licensed authorized card room employee, as approved in 18
the internal controls, who is knowledgeable in the operation of the 19
surveillance system must be available to assist the commission.20
NEW SECTION. Sec. 10. A new section is added to chapter 9.46 21
RCW to read as follows: 22
Centralized surveillance monitoring locations may remotely access 23
live or recorded surveillance footage from licensed card rooms under 24
the following conditions: 25
(1) Remote viewing requires a dedicated and secure communication 26
protocol or application utilizing encryption. Any communication must 27
be secured from intrusion, interference, and eavesdropping;28
(2) The licensed location must ensure security for all 29
communications and data to prevent unauthorized access. These 30
security measures should include, but are not limited to, current 31
encryption standards for critical information, isolation from public 32
networks, and use of firewalls; 33
(3) Laptops or computers used for remote viewing must:34
(a) Be dedicated to the closed-circuit television surveillance 35
systems being monitored; 36
(b) Have a mechanism to detect and prevent installation of 37
spyware, key loggers, hacking tools, or other malicious software;38
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(c) Have regularly updated antivirus software protection;1
(d) Employ active firewall software; 2
(e) Have a hardened operating system; and 3
(f) Have security vulnerability patching; 4
(4) The licensed location must ensure that access protocols are 5
embedded in the system software that prohibit users from rewriting 6
over storage discs, changing system configurations, or otherwise 7
making changes such as to cause the integrity of the system or the 8
historical data to be called into question; 9
(5) Prior to offering centralized surveillance and every license 10
year thereafter, the licensee must have an independent technical 11
expert, who is a licensed service supplier, perform a system 12
integrity and security assessment of the surveillance system. The 13
scope of the security assessment must include vulnerability and 14
penetration testing. The independent technical expert's report must 15
be submitted to the commission within 30 days of the report's 16
completion and must include: 17
(a) The scope of the review; 18
(b) The name and company affiliation of the individuals who 19
conducted the assessment; 20
(c) The date of the assessment; 21
(d) Any findings; 22
(e) Any recommended corrective action, if applicable; and23
(f) The licensee's response to the findings and recommended 24
corrective action if applicable; and 25
(6) The licensed location must report any system security breach 26
to the commission within 24 hours. 27
NEW SECTION. Sec. 11. A new section is added to chapter 9.46 28
RCW to read as follows: 29
Centralized surveillance monitoring locations must be able to 30
remotely access all surveillance camera views and required saved 31
video files from licensed card rooms they monitor. The following 32
video monitoring conditions must be met: 33
(1) There must be adequate bandwidth capacity and transmission 34
speed to ensure all monitored cameras have minimal live view latency 35
of less than a one second delay; 36
(2) Each camera view or saved video file called up for remote 37
viewing at a centralized monitoring location must have:38
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(a) Sufficient bandwidth speeds to show fluid motion equivalent 1
to 25 frames per second or better; and 2
(b) Sufficient clarity to clearly distinguish the value of 3
currency, coins, gaming chips, playing cards, and outcome of the 4
game; and 5
(3) Each camera view and required saved video files at a 6
monitored house-banked card room must be capable of having its video 7
picture displayed on all video monitors at a centralized surveillance 8
monitoring location. 9
NEW SECTION. Sec. 12. A new section is added to chapter 9.46 10
RCW to read as follows: 11
The commission shall adopt rules to implement chapter . . ., Laws 12
of 2025 by January 1, 2026. 13
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