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WA Law: 5 Years in Prison for Gambling Online

Posted by timothy on Wed May 31, 2006 06:15 PM
from the a-sawbuck-says-you-can't-give-up-gambling dept.
United States The Internet Government The Courts Censorship News
tpoker writes "Online gambling has been an ongoing legal issue for the federal government, but Washington State has recently decided to take matters into their own hands. The Seattle PI reports, 'Beginning next month [June 7th], Washington residents who play poker or make other types of wagers on the Internet will be committing a Class C felony, equivalent under the law to possessing child pornography, threatening the governor or torturing an animal. Although the head of the state Gambling Commission says it is unlikely that individual online gamblers will be targeted for arrest, the new law carries stiff penalties: as much as five years in prison and a $10,000 fine.'"
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WA Law: 5 Years in Prison for Gambling Online 25 Comments More /

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  • Might as well kill someone before you gamble. (Score:5, Interesting)

    by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday May 31 2006, @06:17PM (#15439683)
    Wow, you can kill someone and get less prison time... Look at the guy in the northeast who set off fireworks in doors and led to 100 people dying and he only got 4 years!

    Good game, government.

  • Age old problem... (Score:5, Insightful)

    by dotoole (881696) on Wednesday May 31 2006, @06:19PM (#15439694)
    When will people learn that you can't legislate away social problems?

  • Nonsense (Score:5, Insightful)

    by NBarnes (586109) on Wednesday May 31 2006, @06:20PM (#15439698)
    Pardon me, but what the hell is the point of this law if "it is unlikely that individual online gamblers will be targeted for arrest"? Selective enforcement... for the win!

  • Land of the Free, eh? (Score:5, Insightful)

    by Bertie (87778) on Wednesday May 31 2006, @06:20PM (#15439707)
    So much more liberal and right-thinking than those evil Islamic theocracies of the Middle East.

    Keep on shining the torch of liberty into the darkest corners of the earth, now, won't you?

  • In California... (Score:5, Funny)

    by mcpkaaos (449561) on Wednesday May 31 2006, @06:20PM (#15439709)
    possessing child pornography, threatening the governor or torturing an animal

    I'm pretty sure one of those is legal. I just can't remember which.

  • God bless.. (Score:5, Interesting)

    by OzPhIsH (560038) on Wednesday May 31 2006, @06:21PM (#15439720) Journal
    God bless the good ol' land of the free. This is getting way past rediculous. It seems almost that soon murdering all witnesses that saw you commit some petty crime, like gambliing, will net you less jail time than getting busted for the small thing. I mean, 5 years for sitting at a computer and clicking a mouse. Sadly, it isn't sounding so unusual, but damn, that seems VERY fucking cruel.

  • No buying selling stocks online? (Score:5, Insightful)

    by dotslashdot (694478) on Wednesday May 31 2006, @06:21PM (#15439721)
    Does that mean you can't buy & sell stocks online?

  • Dumb Law... (Score:5, Insightful)

    by creimer (824291) on Wednesday May 31 2006, @06:23PM (#15439736) Homepage
    Although the head of the state Gambling Commission says it is unlikely that individual online gamblers will be targeted for arrest, the new law carries stiff penalties: as much as five years in prison and a $10,000 fine.

    There should be a law that you can't put a law on the books with no intention of enforcing it. The law has enough baggage from previous years when politicians would grandstand for the "hang 'em high" crowd. I suggest hanging high anyone who puts a useless law on the book. :P

  • The state hates competition (Score:5, Insightful)

    by hsmith (818216) on Wednesday May 31 2006, @06:25PM (#15439759)
    Look it, the only reason that the gov't HATES online gambling is because it doesn't get paid tribute.

    The gov't hates when industries that rake in cash don't pay special tribute by donating, ect. Look at how google is now throwing out cash to avoid investigations and avoid the trouble MS had in the 90's.

    Pay tribute to the masters and you can do what you want.

    plus the state has a monopoly on gambling (state lotteries), they don't want that threatened. so lets throw harmless people in jail for a non-violent, victimless crime. Yes, america "home of the free" what a load of crap
  • Mandatory sunset date of one year. Not just this stupid law but also laws that your congress-vermin pass. One year, it's re-evaluated and then passed again or thrown away.

  • Indian casino lobbyists at work (Score:5, Interesting)

    by xswl0931 (562013) on Wednesday May 31 2006, @06:40PM (#15439897)
    In Washington State, Indian reservations are building more and bigger casinos. Online gambling is considered a threat. They have successfully lobbied for this law. That's all there is to it.

  • Just one more personal freedom lost (Score:5, Insightful)

    by AriaStar (964558) on Wednesday May 31 2006, @06:52PM (#15440002) Journal
    You can choose to smoke cigarettes around a newborn baby, even blowing smoke in its face, and it's completely legal, but to gamble your own money should be a crime? Because they can tax the cigarettes, but it's difficult to enforce taxes on online winnings. Without that tax money, how are they supposed to vote themselves more payraises? There is no logical reason for this. If you think about it, most laws are in place for no reason other than as reasons to fine us or tax us to death.

    The original purpose of laws at all was to impose a minimal number of laws to ensure the safety of lives and property of citizens. How does it ensure the safety of my life or property if I cross a suburban street anywhere other than a street corner if no cars are coming? I learned to look both ways. It's still a crime a cop could fine me for.

    What politician does it hurt if two guys want to go consensually behind closed and do whatever the hell they want to do with each other? Who does it hurt if I want to give a guy a blow job, or he wants to go down on me? Hell, we're adults, and yet these are still crimes in some states. Must we get permits?

    See why I like a lot (but not all) of the ideas behind anarchy? Get the government the hell out of our lives.

  • Wanna bet? (Score:5, Funny)

    by Anne_Nonymous (313852) on Wednesday May 31 2006, @07:00PM (#15440063) Homepage Journal
    Five bucks says they'll never catch me.

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