Washington State gambling laws scaled back

2007-04-25 17:09:27

Legislators in Washington State have changed the way in which their anti-gambling laws work, effectively giving players a way out from prosecution.

Now players gambling online in their own home and not for organised profit will have the backing of the law should their cases go to court.

However the changes do not apply to gambling operators or similar ventures, leading to a somewhat confusing message.

Passed earlier this month, the new laws reduce the impact of previous measures which put gambling on a par with owning child pornography.

Such rules were "an inappropriate penalty for an activity responsible adults should be allowed to do in the privacy of their home," said state representative Chris Strow.

"Most certainly choosing to gamble, or play a game of skill such as poker, should not have been made a crime equivalent to possessing child pornography or threatening the governor," said Mr Strow at the time of the bill's filing in January 2007.

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