Lawsuit challenges state's ban on Internet gambling

10.07.2007, Lesen Sie hier den Bericht über «Lawsuit challenges state's ban on Internet gambling»

Law - A poker player argues it violates constitutional interstate trade protections Tuesday, July 10, 2007 The Associated Press SEATTLE -- A Washington attorney is suing the state to overturn its ban on Internet gambling, a topic that has the United States mired in international trade disputes.

In a complaint filed last week in King County Superior Court, lawyer and poker aficionado Lee Rousso of Renton claims Washington's online wagering ban conflicts with the U.S. Constitution's protections of interstate trade. "I think my chances are darn good," Rousso said.

State lawmakers approved the Internet gambling ban by wide margins, and it went into effect in June 2006. It extended previous prohibitions on gambling by telephone or telegraph and upped the crime to a felony, rather than a gross misdemeanor. The lawsuit is being handled by Attorney General Rob McKenna, who is responsible for defending legal challenges of state laws.

No one has been prosecuted under the Washington ban so far, but the state Gambling Commission "will continue with our enforcement actions," spokeswoman Susan Arland said Monday. Internet gambling also is prohibited under federal law. But that ban has sparked international trade squabbles with the countries that house online gambling operations.

The $15.5 billion Internet gambling industry is based outside the United States, though about half of its customers live in the United States. The U.S. law, approved last year, stopped domestic banks and credit card companies from processing payments to online gambling businesses outside the country. The World Trade Organization ruled in December that the federal law unfairly targeted offshore casinos. The WTO told the U.S. it could keep restrictions against sport betting in place if they were also applied to U.S. businesses, such as operators of remote horse betting.

Rousso's lawsuit argues that Washington state's law unfairly protects the in-state gambling industry, including card rooms and casinos. If he loses in court, Rousso said he would push for another change in state law to make Internet poker legal again. "Our backup plan is to get this done politically," he said.

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