A week or so ago, there was a post on this board concerning the Washington State Gambling Commission and chips for sale on EBay. A chip seller had been contacted by an investigator from the commission and advised that the Washington Administrative Code had a provision that might affect sales of chips from Washington state casinos, especially chips from closed casinos that were being offered in bulk.

I contacted the investigator and advised him that I was a lawyer and a chip collector and wanted to discuss his interpretation of the regulations and his concerns about chip sales. I did not tell him that I represented anyone in particular but that I was simply concerned as a collector. Here’s what I learned:

• The inquiry originated when the investigator received an inquiry from “a member of the public” who believed that sales of Washington chips violated WAC 230-12-335 (see link below for complete text) which seeks to control sales of “gambling equipment” by licensees.

• In sum, the regulation requires that licensees ensure that sales of gambling equipment (which includes, by definition, chips) be limited to those who have a valid gambling license. The regulation prohibits licensees whose licenses are terminated (voluntarily or otherwise) from selling chips to anyone other than a licensed manufacturer or distributor.

• So, if someone has large quantities of obsolete chips from a defunct Washington casino those chips were transferred to him/her in violation of the regulation and are, technically, subject to confiscation by the commission.

• All of the foregoing notwithstanding, this is a very, very low priority item for the commission and it is highly unlikely that they will seek to confiscate chips in the possession of a non-licensee. And, of course, the commission has no jurisdiction or authority to act outside the state of Washington.

Bottom Line—no need to be concerned about individual chip sales and purchases. The issue is not a problem for collectors and the state is unlikely to proceed against anyone except possibly those who sell large quantities of obsolete chips from a closed Washington casino and make those sales within the state of Washington.