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Poker Player’s Alliance Challenges Anti Online Casino Law in Washington

The June 13, 2023, By Bernard Lamothe

The federal system in the United States allows different laws to be applicable in different jurisdictions and states.

Washington State has laws against online casino gambling, including poker and skill games. Playing or engaging in these types of online games is punishable as a felony.

This law was recently challenged by the Washington State branch of the Poker Player’s Alliance. After going to trial and the appeals courts, is now before the Washington State Supreme Court. State Director of the Poker Player’s Alliance Lee Rousso presented the case for the PPA that challenged the law under the Commerce Act, the specifically states that the state cannot legislate discriminatory legislation against a particular industry. The PPA’s case is that the State of Washington unlawfully discriminates against online casino gambling and poker rooms.

Mr. Rousso’s argument contends that a person playing online poker or other casino games inside a land based casino is not breaking the law, but the same activity online is a felony. It was suggested that the only beneficiaries of the law are the Indian owned casinos who did not want competition from their online counterparts.

Assistant Attorney General, Jerry Ackerman, represented the State of Washington, and said to the court that online gambling cannot be regulated and is therefore unsafe.

Thomas Goldstein, who spoke for the online gambling industry said that it was not sufficient for the state to claim that online gambling cannot be regulated and they had failed at the two previous court hearings to prove that online gambling could not be controlled or regulated. Goldstein also added there are many instances of regulated online gambling in other jurisdictions and the State of Washington allows for online betting on the horses.

Justice, Jim Johnson, questioned Ackerman, "Aren’t these the same games that are played in Indian casinos?" Ackerman said the Indian casinos were allowed because federal legislation required them to do so. The judges pointed out that the state receives a substantial fee from the Tribal casinos dismissing Ackerman's contention.

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