Washington State Law Comes Under Fire From Free Speech Advocates

Free speech advocates speak out about “absurd” Washington State online gambling law

Christopher Costigan, www.gambling911.com
Originally published June 27, 2006 11:11 pm EDT

In case you’ve been living under a rock this past month – and this might be a good time to point out that living under a rock could actually be better than living in beautiful Washington State these days – you might not know it is now illegal to play poker online in places like Seattle, Spokane and Olympia, Washington.

That’s because the state’s governor, Christine Gregoire, has not only taken it upon herself to outlaw online gambling, she’s also made it a felony with the same punishment given to child predators, second offense drunk drivers and drug dealers.

Director of the state’s gambling commission, Rick Day, recently warned the Seattle Times.

“My suggestion to you is to remove from your paper any advice about online gambling and any links to illegal sites,” Day said.

Perhaps this wouldn’t be so bad if not for the fact that Washington State citizens are encouraged to gamble in that state’s various Indian land based casinos and the state lotteries, not to mention you can bet horses online.

Freedom of speech will ultimately take center stage as a result of this new law and Gambling911.com wouldn’t be the least bit surprised to see the ACLU get involved as they have with states such as New Mexico, which attempted unsuccessfully to block its citizens from accessing online gambling websites via internet service providers.

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Author: GamesAndCasino