Online Poker Wa State

I’m a poker player. There was a time when you would have to whisper that fact in hushed tones and make sure you watched who you were talking to. That was before the World Series of Poker was televised nationwide on ESPN, and people generally accepted the fact that there is skill involved in the game. That was before there were personal computers in every pocket and very smart people would try and solve the game with algorithms.

RELATED: Ron’s life lessons learned from poker

Did you realize that in the state of Washington it is a Class C Felony to play a hand of poker online for real money? Yes, it is a felony to place an online wager in Washington!

Just to give you some context, here is the explanation of misdemeanors from the Washington State Courts webpage: “Examples of gross misdemeanors are theft of property and driving while under the influence (DUI) of alcohol or drugs. Among the many types of misdemeanors are disorderly conduct and prostitution.”

You got that right. A DUI and prostitution are misdemeanors, while placing a wager online is a felony.

Here’s the thing though, people like to gamble. It’s fun, and it can add a little excitement to a dull day. So I was surprised to read on Geekwire that Muckleshoot Casino is rolling out a new app that has a clever work around this draconian online wagering law.

Here’s how it’s going to work starting in the fall. You download their app to your phone, then physically go to the casino and purchase games with cash money. Then you can leave the casino and play the games anywhere virtually. If you win, you’re winning real money that you collect the next time you’re at the casino.

These won’t be games like poker or roulette, but more like bingo and other games where you’re not playing against the house.

I’m tempted to go on a diatribe on how stupid the state of Washington is for criminalizing an online behavior that is perfectly legal in real life. Instead, I’m going to view this as a positive step.

Hopefully, this will end up in court and the current laws will be thrown out.

Legal Washington Online Poker If you live in the State of Washington, it's no surprise that you might be confused on whether it is legal to play online poker within the state's borders. That's because hundreds. Though A Long Shot, Washington State Online Poker Bill Back On Table For 2016 Session By Dustin Gouker on January 15, 2016 05:57 PST. Washington State is the only state where online gambling is a felony, so proponents of regulated online poker.

Society is slowly losing its judgments about archaic prohibitions from a bygone era. Attitudes are becoming more liberal around the idea of placing a bet for entertainment. Look no further than the recent Supreme Court decision on sports wagering.

Washington state needs to wake up and realize this is a perfectly acceptable tax revenue stream that is no different than ordering your groceries online instead of going to the brick and mortar store. If people want to use their entertainment budget to play a game, isn’t that their business?

March 03, 2021 - Gambling Commission Director David Trujillo Taking Position with the State Board of Accountancy January 25, 2021 - Gambling Commission, Snoqualmie Indian Tribe reach tentative. Online poker in WA state. Preface: I'm aware of the WA online gambling laws and their associated legal ramifications. Any Washingtonians currently playing online? Mind sharing your process of getting.

Kudos to Muckleshoot for moving this issue forward. Now let’s take the next logical step and allow responsible adults to do online all the things they can legally do in a casino.

You can hear “What are we talking about here?” everyday at 4:45 p.m. on 97.3 FM.

Flushdraw has received word that former Washington State Sen. Margarita Prentice, the author of the 2006 measure and eventual law that made the playing of online poker anywhere in the state a Class C felony, has passed away at age 88. Prentice, who was appointed to a Washington State House seat in 1988, and who then became a state senator in 1992, became a reviled figure in the online-poker world after she forced through an anti-online poker measure after receiving donations from several of the state’s casino-operating tribal nations.

Prentice passed away earlier this month at her home in Bryn Mawr-Skyway, a southern Seattle suburb. Prentice retired from public service at the end of 2012 and reportedly suffered from heart problems in her final years. According to a brief public obituary offered by the Seattle Times, Prentice died peacefully at her home, “sitting in her favorite chair with her dog on her lap.” Prentice, who was also the first Latina member of the Washington State legislature, stayed close to her 11th Senate District roots throughout her nearly quarter century in office.

The online-poker furor surrounding Prentice began in earnest in 2006, when she sponsored a bill at the behest of several of the state’s tribes. The bill made the playing of online poker a felony punishable by as much as five years in prison and a $10,000 fine, a penalty equivalent to that for disseminating child pornography. With tribal lobbying backing the bill and no real opposition, it passed unanimously in the state’s Senate and received only five nay votes in the House. This was despite the ludicrous nature of the bill, in that playing poker in any of the state’s live-casino poker rooms remained fully legal, while playing even one-penny/two-penny stakes online was a felony.

The law also contained strict penalties for participating in any way in the online-poker industry. State authorities leaned hard on online-poker affiliates based in the state, and also sent cease-and-desist letters to multiple magazines that contained online-poker advertising, causing some of those mags to cancel subscriptions of Washington State residents.

Online Poker Wa State Game

Prentice’s Washington State bill passed in June of 2006, even before the US’s federal-level UIGEA (Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act) was passed and signed into law that fall. Still, the Washington law seemed so ludicrous that offshore sites were loath to pull services from the state, believing a legal challenge would emerge and overturn the unjust legislation. Such a challenge was mounted in 2008 by Seattle attorney and online-poker player Lee Rousso, who sued the state for the right to play poker online. However, Rousso lost his case permanently in 2010, affirming the law’s legality and notably forcing PokerStars to abandon the Washington State market.

Since then, a couple of legislative efforts have been mounted to nullify the felony law, but none of those bills have made significant headway.

As for Prentice, she was painted as a nanny-state legislator even before her bill became law in 2006, though she tried hard to downplay the many tribal campaign contributions she received over the years. (A Seattle Weekly feature about Prentice and the anti-online-poker law, “Happy to Play Nanny,” barely scratches the surface.

Instead, Prentice continued to attack the online-poker world in the days after her bill became law and received national mainstream coverage — and not long after a Washington State online-poker player, Dan “Wretchy” Martin, cashed for $160,000 in a major online tourney. Prentice told ESPN, “I just think some of these arguments are utter nonsense. You mean you’re going to move so you can play poker? Gee, lots of luck in your life. … I have nothing against card playing. That’s fine. If you want to do that, but I’m sure not going to worry about someone… you know. Let them go pump gas.”

COMMENTS

Leave a Comment

LATEST NEWS

filter by

Dan Katz

Is the Coronavirus a Threat to the 2020 WSOP?

This has been one hell of a week. The coronavirus (COVID-19) is picking up steam globally. World financial markets have...

Dan Katz

Side Bets Available at PokerStars Poker Tables

Poker is gambling. We like to say that it is a game of skill – and it is – but it is also gambling. And that’s...

Dan Katz

World Series of Poker Expands Online Bracelet Schedule to 14 Events

On Thursday, the World Series of Poker released the schedule for this summer’s online bracelet events, to be hosted...

Dan Katz

Phil Galfond Down €750,000 to VeniVidi1993 in Galfond Challenge

Look, I don’t typically make a habit of feeling bad when people of means lose money, but oh man, I am starting to get...

Dan Katz

PokerStars, partypoker Launching Dueling Bounty Tourney Series on Super Bowl Sunday

The year 2020 is already one-twelfth gone. It seems like just yesterday that Larry David was arguing that it was too...

Haley Hintze

Poker Rooms In Washington State

Coronavirus Outbreak Forces Postponement of Triton Jeju Series

The Triton Super High Roller Series scheduled for mid-Februry in Jeju, South Korea has become the first poker event...

TOP POKER SITES

• PokerStars
• $600

• 888 Poker
• $400

• William Hill
• £1,200

• Betsafe Poker
• $1,000

• Bet-at-Home
• €1,500

• Betsson Poker
• €100 to €1000

view all

POKER IN YOUR COUNTRY

• US POKER SITES
• CANADIAN POKER SITES
• UK POKER SITES
• EUROPEAN POKER SITES
• SOUTH AFRICAN POKER SITES

DEVICE COMPATIBILITY

Mobile Poker Sites

Linux Poker

Android Poker Sites

Mac Poker

GUIDES

Deposit Methods

Online Poker Wa State Capitol

Poker Networks

Online Poker In Wa State

SPORTS BETTING GUIDE

Global Poker Washington State