If you're following the ongoing tangle of court cases revolving around the U.S. online gambling ban, there is good news from the front. If you haven't already heard, American lawyer, Lee Rousso recently filed a lawsuit against the State of Washington for its explicit ban against all forms of online betting. Well, apparently Rousso's case has some merit to it, for the Washington resident has been given a court hearing for September 21, 2007.

Rousso, who is an avid online poker player himself and the Washington representative for the powerful Poker Players Alliance (PPA), said he will be filing his next brief by August 24, giving him ample breathing room to prepare for his case. Representing the collective voice of the PPA, which has strong lobbying ties and is now over 1 million members strong, Rousso's lawsuit claims that the State government of Washington is in violation of interstate trade clauses contained in the U.S. Constitution.

Some gaming analysts believe that Rousso's lawsuit stands a good chance at reversing the State's online gambling ban that went into effect in June of last year. Despite the lack of support from the federal government, not to mention its own restrictions against online gambling, industry professionals and legal advisors are quick to point out the extreme nature of Washington's ban against online poker.

Updating antiquated legislation that made betting via telegraph or telephone a misdemeanor offense, the gambling legislation in Washington now obviously applies to online gambling, but with even stricter repercussions. Although there have been no prosecutions of players at the current time, the updated legislation now makes remote betting a felony offense. In other words, Washington residents who gamble at online casinos are held to the same punishments as child abusers.