The Washington State Gambling Commission has shut down several illegal pull-tab games operated on Facebook by several people in Whatcom and Skagit counties, according to a Tuesday, Dec. 7, news release from the state gambling commission.
The state gambling agency received a tip about a game that claimed a Sedro Woolley woman was running the operation. A special agent observed the woman selling pull-tabs during three different events on Facebook Live during June 2021, according to the release. The woman used a $2 pull-tab game called "Raise the Ante" manufactured by American Games, which holds a state gambling license, the release states.
During the Facebook Live events, people watched while the Sedro Woolley woman opened the tabs. They were also able to chat with her, to which she responded verbally, the release states.
The players would tell the woman how many tabs they wanted to buy and would pay through online wallet applications like Venmo or Cash App. The woman would then check her phone to ensure she received the money, the release states. Players also got their names placed on a spinning wheel for additional pull-tabs for every $100 they spent, according to the release.
The woman admitted her participation in the pull-tab operation when she was contacted by an agent working on the case, the release states.
Two additional suspects — one in Ferndale and another in Mount Vernon — were also identified and admitted to taking part in the games, according to the release.
All three people agreed to shut down the pull-tab games. No criminal charges were filed because the people stopped the illegal activity and cooperated with the gambling commission, the release states.
The suspects identified a woman in Florida as the retail seller of the pull-tabs. The Florida Department of Law Enforcement started an investigation into the woman, the release states.
The investigation also shut down three private groups on Facebook that encouraged illegal gambling, profiting from it and taught people how to do it. There were at least 12,000 members from all over the country across all three groups, the release states.
