In 2006, a small, seemingly insignificant, pro-tribal gaming law was attached to a piece of must-pass legislation in Washington State. What did this little bill include? It made playing online poker a felony - a felony commensurate with being a level C sex offender. Oh, you can still play poker...at a tribal casino or card room. You can still blow a week's salary on state lottery and keno tickets (encouraged by the state) or bet on horse races (even remotely).
The government decided to "protect" us from ourselves and in so doing threw a bone to the tribal casino monopoly within the state. As of January this year (2011), if I were on state assistance, I could empty my welfare debit card at a casino or strip-club ATM and spend the money on video slot machines, roulette tables and lap dances.
Makes sense, doesn't it? The sad part is, when canvased at a later time by various poker advocacy proponents, most state politicians who passed this into law admitted not even reading or researching this piece of attached legislation (which raises a whole separate concern -- how many other pieces of questionable legislation pass in this manner without ever being researched by our esteemed lawmakers?).
