The Associated Press
OLYMPIA — The state Supreme Court has unanimously ruled that the state’s ban on Internet gambling doesn’t run afoul of the U.S. Constitution’s protections of interstate trade.
Thursday’s ruling upholds a King County Superior Court decision against Renton lawyer Lee Rousso and his challenge of the 2006 state law that makes online gambling a felony.
Washington state allows some forms of non-tribal gambling, including cardrooms that offer poker, blackjack and other games with relatively low stakes. Online gambling and bookmaking fees, however, are specifically outlawed in the state.
Justice Richard Sanders wrote there was no direct discriminatory effect on interstate commerce, because the law “prohibits Internet gambling evenhandedly, regardless of whether the company running the web site is located in or outside the state of Washington.”
