Washington State in the US Determines Online Gambling to be Felony Crime

On June 7, 2006, Washington State determined that online gambling constitutes a felonious crime. Is this a move that will be followed by other states in the United States? While that remains to be seen, the stakes for gaming online in the state of Washington just got raised substantially.

Previously, Washington State listed online gambling as a misdemeanor rather than a felony, meaning that no constitutional rights, such as voting, the right to bear arms and others, were taken from someone convicted of the infraction. A felony traditionally carries higher fines and penalties and costs the convicted person numerous rights for the remainder of their lives. So this reflects a significant change in the stance on online gambling in this region.

It is not expected that Washington authorities will go after the single, at-home gamer, but instead will use this legislation to stop money laundering and underage gambling by going after the Internet based gambling sites operating in Washington. One of the co-sponsors for the new law, Senator Karen Keister indicated her feelings that organized crime could take over online gambling and that it is very difficult to control, thereby becoming a dangerous enterprise.

Twelve Internet gaming investigations have been opened in Washington State in the past but most were unsuccessful because of the inherent problems of tracking down cyber-based operations. The websites simply move to a new location.

While the penalties involved only 90 days of incarceration or less for first-time offenders, the jail time for repeat offenders could be up to one year. Most citizens doubt these possible sentences will result in a reduction in the level of online gaming being done by Washington residents.

Problems called out as a result of the law is the fact that the Washington State Lottery can sell tickets online as had been previously planned for an early 2007 launch. Because the website technically would be an "online gambling website", the plans may have to be completely shelved.

Is this the trend of the future? Perhaps, but we'll have to wait and see if other states in the U.S. follow Washington's lead in this matter.