Is Online Poker Legal in Washington?
Washington State has one of the toughest online poker laws in the nation. This law is designed to prevent online gambling, and it has drawn the ire of many poker players who have attempted to have it overturned, but they have been unsuccessful each time.
The law makes it a felony to play online poker in the state, and although this is a low class of felony, it can still get you arrested or charged with a crime. However, no poker player in Washington state has ever been prosecuted for playing the game.
There are a few different ways to play poker in the state of Washington. For starters, there are some tribal casinos and card rooms that offer legal poker. Some of these casinos are located in the state’s biggest cities, such as Seattle, Tacoma, and Everett. Others are smaller properties, like 7 Cedars Casino in Sequim.
These places often host casual games of poker for fun and charity events where a portion of the winnings is donated to a cause. In addition, there are also a handful of poker tournaments in the state.
The biggest of these is the Seattle Poker Open, which has a prize pool of $1 million. The tournament is held each year in September.
Other Washington casinos and card rooms that offer poker include the Seven Cedars Casino in Sequim and the Tacoma Downs. They are both part of the Tribal Lottery System, which allows tribal casinos to offer some forms of slots and electronic games to their patrons.
Washington’s tribal casinos make up one of the state’s largest gambling industries, with more than 2.1 billion dollars in revenue from their operations. However, none of these locations currently offer online gaming.
In an effort to boost the state’s gambling industry, a voter initiative has been introduced in 2014 that would permit tribal casinos to offer online poker. Despite the fact that the initiative lacks enough signatures to make it on to the legislative agenda, this could be an important step in getting online poker legalized in Washington.
Another way to play poker in Washington is through an offshore sportsbook that offers a number of online poker options. Some of these sites offer tournaments, while others only have a few video poker games available.
You can find all kinds of poker games on these sites, including No Limit Hold’em, Pot Limit Omaha, and Seven-Card Stud. You’ll also find a number of fast-fold Zone Poker and lottery-inspired jackpot SNGs.
Several of these poker sites offer a variety of other games as well, such as blackjack and roulette. Moreover, they often feature live dealers and tournaments with huge prize pools.
The most popular site for Washington players is Ignition, which has a huge amount of traffic and a wide range of stakes. You’ll find games of Texas Hold’em, Omaha and Seven-Card Stud at a number of different levels of competition. Some of these games are even a bit higher-stakes than what you might be used to seeing at land-based poker rooms in Washington.