An online poker bill that would overturn the draconian laws that make the game a Class C felony in Washington State has been prefiled ahead of the 2015 legislature session scheduled to kick off at the start of this week.
Seven million more American souls could soon be playing a legal form of real money online poker as Washington House of Representatives member, Sherry Appleton, prefiled a new online poker bill (HB 1114) on Friday.
The new bill seeks to replace the draconian laws brought into practice, in 2006 that made participation in online poker games a Class C felony. Anyone caught breaking the law could face up to five years in prison and a $10,000 fine.
It’s widely reported that the bill will be formally introduced when the 2015 legislative session begins on Mon 12th Jan, and OnlinePokerReport (OPR) scribe Chris Grove believes that the driving force behind the bill is the Washington Internet Poker Initiate founder Curtis Woodard.
Attn: WA poker players, We Have a Bill !! HB 1114 (2015-16) Now the real work begins, make yourself heard! http://t.co/AKUwjdeLe7
— Curtis Woodard (@curtinsea) January 12, 2015
The bill contains the same meat that we have seen in most other bills, with the glaring exception being the lack of the words: ‘bad actor.’ Good news if PokerStars ever want to invade the Evergreen state. The reasoning behind the submission is a simple one.
‘Poker has long been an authorized activity in Washington state, and with the internet as a technological aid, poker can be conducted in a virtual environment and played from the privacy of one’s own computer or mobile device.’
If it’s legal to play live then why is it illegal to play online?
The bill also places emphasis on the damage that prohibition can cause, with Washington state players choosing unregulated ways to get their online poker fix. The other two interesting points of note were wording allowing the state to enter into multi-state compacts for shared liquidity (not international like New Jersey), and a two tiered license system for (a) Internet card rooms, and (b) online poker networks. Players would have to be 18-years old to play.
Like Woodard says, ‘now the real work begins.’
If you would like to see online poker fully regulated in the state of Washington then follow Woodard on Twitter and do what the man says.
