Poker lawsuit fails in Washington
Playing poker for money online will remain illegal in Washington state, a King County Superior Court judge ruled this week.
But the Seattle-area attorney and poker aficionado who filed a lawsuit challenging the state’s right to regulate international online gambling said he will press forward to the state Supreme Court if necessary.
“There is virtually no public support for this law,” said local attorney Lee Rousso as he stood among poker fans in front of the Regional Justice Center in Kent after the hearing Thursday morning.
The lawsuit was filed last year in response to a 2006 revision to a state statute that added online gambling to the list of electronically transferred gambling activities banned in Washington state.
The law also makes online gambling a Class C felony punishable by up to five years in prison and a fine of $10,000. No cases have been prosecuted.
The Poker Players Alliance, which claims more than 1 million members and estimates 800,000 online poker players in Washington, said the punishment is outrageous.
