by Hillary LaClair, Senior Editor
April 14, 2009
The online poker community in the US suffered another blow this month as a Court of Appeals in Washington has ruled to uphold a law that makes online poker a felony. Leading the charge in the Washington case was former gubernatorial candidate Lee Rousso, an attorney and the state director for the advocacy group, the Poker Players Alliance. Rousso has continued to fight for his claims that anti-gambling legislation is constitutional. Washington is the only U.S. state that has specifically banned poker as a form of illegal gambling
In rendering their decision, the three members of the Washington appeals court once again agreed that Rousso did not demonstrate significant damage to out-of-state businesses as a result of the law, despite ongoing trade disputes with Antigua and the European Union over the ban on internet gambling. “Ultimately, given the importance of the State's interests in protecting its citizens from the ills associated with gambling, and the relatively small cost imposed on out-of-state businesses by complying with the Gambling Act, Rousso has failed to meet his burden of showing that the Gambling Act is 'clearly excessive,'” read the final ruling.
The 2006 law expanded the list of electronically transferred gambling activities considered illegal to include all online wagering, including poker. The Court also found that, rather that applying a special legal analysis to the internet, it should be treated the same as telephones and radios. The Court of Appeals explained that the internet serves as the same purposes as these older technologies, but operates “more quickly, cheaply, and efficiently.”
The PPA cites that the UIGEA (Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act) and the 2006 Gambling Act are violations of the Commerce Clause of the Constitution as well as the First Amendement. Rousso has announced that he will move his case to the Supreme Court.
“The Supreme Court gets to decide if they'll take it. I think there's a pretty good chance they will. There's also a possibility that it could end up in front of the U.S. Supreme Court. It's more difficult to get local judges to strike down their own state's laws,” said Rousso.
PPA spokesman Taylor Gross said, "Subjecting poker players to criminal penalties that are on par with those for possessing child pornography or distributing heroin is unmerited and unfair."
Rousso had previously dropped his bid to run for Governor of Washington State late last year. He opined that the law was hypocritical and discriminates against the brick-and-mortar card rooms and lotteries authorized and licensed by the state. Rousso is hesitant to believe that all the legislators who voted for the 2006 statute revision criminalizing online gambling were fully aware of what they doing, as it was tacked onto the Safe Port Act.
The growing pressure group that is the Poker Players' Alliance demanded the decision be reviewed and overruled. The PPA has enlisted over a million members nationwide, and estimates there are 800,000 online poker players in the state.
Rousso concluded that he “respectfully disagrees” with the decision and will continue to fight the battle that he predicts will eventually be decided by the Supreme Court.
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