King County, WA Gambling & Gaming: Card Room Licensing (2026)
Key Facts
- Tax rate
- 11% of gross receipts over $10,000/yr
- Nonprofit exemption
- under $1,250 gross income per quarter
- Administered by
- Finance and Business Operations Division
- Late payment penalty
- 10-15% plus misdemeanor for nonpayment
- Enforcement cooperation
- sheriff may contract with cities
- Geographic reach
- unincorporated King County only
Summary
Unincorporated King County taxes licensed social card game rooms at 11 percent of annual gross receipts over $10,000 under King County Code § 12.54.100. The tax rides on state licensing under RCW 9.46.030, so a card room must already hold a Washington State Gambling Commission license before the county's finance division collects against it.
12.54.100 Social card game room tax. There is levied upon all persons, associations, and organizations who have been duly licensed to operate social card games under the provision of RCW 9.46.030(1) and (4), a tax equal to eleven percent of the annual gross receipts exceeding ten thousand dollars: PROVIDED THAT no tax shall be imposed when such activities are conducted by any bona fide charitable or nonprofit organization as defined in RCW 9.46.020(3) which organization has no paid operating or management personnel and has gross income from social card games not exceeding twelve hundred and fifty dollars per quarter; PROVIDED FURTHER THAT, the executive is authorized to implement appropriate fiscal reporting requirements to insure the effective administration of license holders exempt from the payment of taxes.
Full Breakdown
030(1) and (4). A bona fide charitable or nonprofit operator with no paid staff and gross income under $1,250 per quarter is exempt, and the county executive can require fiscal reporting from license holders claiming that exemption. 080. 030. 050 lets incorporated cities that adopt their own gambling tax keep and administer that revenue instead of the county doing so. 46, with the county collecting its cut once the license issues.
Violations & Fines
Failing or refusing to pay the § 12.54.100 tax, or violating finance-division rules adopted under § 12.54.060, is a misdemeanor under § 12.54.040, punishable by up to 90 days in county jail, a fine up to $250, or both, and any fine is added on top of the unpaid tax itself. Late payments also draw delinquency penalties under § 12.54.030: 10 percent (minimum $2) for 1-17 days late, 15 percent (minimum $4) for 18-40 days, and delinquency past 40 days is itself a separate violation of that section.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does King County license card rooms itself?
How much tax does a King County card room pay?
What happens if a card room in unincorporated King County doesn't pay the tax?
Does this tax apply inside Seattle or other King County cities?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in King County
Compare King County to another location·View the Washington gambling & gaming overview
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