If you happen to live in the state of Washington, an important ruling came down today at the hands of a King County Superior Court judge. She ruled that playing poker for money online is still illegal in this state. Lee Rousso, a local attorney and poker player said he hopes the U.S. Supreme Court would hopefully issue the ultimatum ruling eventually.
Last year, the Senate and House of Washington added online gambling to the list of illegal activities in Washington. Playing online poker in Washington is currently a Class C felony, with up to 5 years in jail and a fine of $10,000 possible. Consequently, playing online poker in Washington is in line with child pornography and distribution of heroin for their penalties if convicted.
Hopefully Rousso is successful in bringing his case up against the U.S. Supreme Court as he feels as though making online gambling illegal violates his rights brought forth by the Constitution. His argument went up saying that there was no jurisdictional power by the states to regulate something that is often starting from companies located in places other than the United States.
King county Superior Judge Mary Roberts claimed that the history of the states strict gambling laws influenced her ruling. The truth to this matter is that something needs to be done in many of the states today to stop making online poker illegal, because I don’t even think the legislators themselves consider playing poker online is punishable by up to 5 years of your life in jail and a hefty fine of $10,000.