I enjoy playing poker online. No actual money involved, it's with free "play" chips on PokerStars.net. A few years ago one of our members hosted a SIGforum Sunday evening tournament on that site. Again, no actual money involved, just free chips.

I'm not sure where the prohibition came from, maybe the Patriot Act, but some time after 9-11, U.S. residents were prohibited from using real money to plan online. That restriction is still in effect, and every once in a while, when logging on to Poker Stars to play, you have to acknowledge that restriction and agree that you will not attempt to circumvent it.

With the above in mind, I was greeted today with an announcement that per a recent judicial decision, Washington State residents may no longer play poker online. Not even with free, no-money, "play" chips.

I'm curious now. Can anybody in Washington tell me what's going on there?

I'll be interested to see the answer, that sounds like ridiculous over-reach. I suspect the rules haven't changed, but the threat of enforcement and investigation against Poker Stars and the like was ramped up. No need for them to risk that when there is no financial upside, even if they aren't in any technical violation. Allowing free play used to be a means to attract real money customers but not now, in the US at least.

A quick search of articles in the last month with "Washington state online poker" yields this article. I suspect that's at the root.

Social Poker ban

I miss those good ol' days of bonus chasing, but I do get much more sleep without it! Also not sure how long it would take to get over the pucker factor of another Black Friday and the scramble to get money out of online accounts.

That's quite a predicament! I've also been thrown off by how suddenly laws around online gaming can change.

 
Free chips are a gateway drug.

I would be shocked if the state of Washington has not instituted a tax on the winnings of online poker. Taxing the imaginary proceeds in real money would be the sort of thing Olympia would do. The state of Washington cares only for how it can tax, regulate, and burden its residents.

quote:

Originally posted by Stlhead:

Taxing the imaginary proceeds in real money would be the sort of thing Olympia would do.

That's where I draw the line! I'm willing to pay tax on imaginary winnings, as long as I can pay that tax with imaginary money. Or maybe get a tax credit in real money, for losses of imaginary money.

Online gambling / sports betting has been illegal here for a long time (I wanna say 15+ years now). Even the ‘play / fake money’ kind.

I think there’s people trying to get gambling reclassified as a ‘game of skill’, so that the law can be overturned. Doubtful …

Yeah, Washington doesn't want anyone competing with the state lottery.

Except maybe the Indian Casinos of which there are many in the state.

quote:

Originally posted by Copefree:

I think there’s people trying to get gambling reclassified as a ‘game of skill’

I would have to argue that there are some forms of gambling that are, indeed, games of skill. Examples include blackjack as played by a good card counter, some forms of poker, even some video poker machines. The outcomes on all of these are very dependent on the players' decisions. Yes, there is a large element of luck, but a skillful player has a lot more influence on the outcome than a player on a strictly random game, such as slot machines or roulette wheels.

1968, a newly designed telephone central office system was being installed in North Las Vegas. Key members of the design team were there on standby, to handle any design problems during installation testing and the initial in-service period. I was part of that team, I had designed all of the trunk circuits for that system, so I was in Las Vegas on the company's nickel for a bit over three months. During that time, every paycheck and every expense reimbursement check that I received went straight into a savings account, I never had to touch them. I lived completely, all expenses, lodging, meals, entertainment, etc., on my take from the blackjack tables, using the methods published by mathematician Edward Thorpe in his book "Beat The Dealer."