Washington State was the first U.S. State to outright declare online poker and other online casino games illegal. Passed last year on State Bill 6613, the law makes the act of playing online poker for real money a Class C felony. The bill's author, Senator Margarita Prentice, is now being accused in a lawsuit that she received financial contributions from casinos in Washington, which suggests that Prentice passed the legislation in the interests of the very same brick n' mortar casinos who were no doubt losing business to online casinos.

The lawsuit was filed by Washington lawyer claiming the poker ban is a constitutional violation of his rights as a U.S. citizen as well the Commerce Clause in the Constitution itself, which says that State's cannot enforce laws that specifically discriminate against interstate businesses. The lawyer who filed the lawsuit with the King County Superior Court, Lee Rousso, who also serves as legal counsel for the Poker Players Alliance, said he is confident the lawsuit has an excellent chance at throwing out the protectionist online poker ban.

Rousso is an experienced and active poker player himself, and evidently has his heart in the case. Rousso is arguing that the law drawn up by Senator Margarita is not only biased and serves the interests of land-based casinos, it is flawed because it was not passed as a means of getting compliant with the outdated Wire Act, which apparently makes the act of placing bets through the internet illegal (even though the internet was not around when the Wire Act was first passed into law).

The Washington Gambling Commission would not comment on the matter until they read the lawsuit.  Although they said they would not be commenting on it at the time being, Gambling Commission spokeswoman, Susan Arland, said they would comment on the contents of the lawsuit after they have ample time to examine it.