Due to a ruling by the supreme court in Washington State, PokerStars has closed it’s virtual doors indefinitely to players from the area.
Throughout the last few years, PokerStars has went to battle for the rights of American Poker Players. When France changed their law, PokerStars quickly set up French Friendly poker.
For now though, it doesn’t look as though PokerStars will be able to find a way to welcome back Washington Residents so long as the politicians in that state choose to push their own jaded morals onto others.
This is the first official move PokerStars has made out of the United States market, and that’s a really scary thing for anyone who opposes censorship of the Internet, and/or the government curbing how we spend our money, and what we do to entertain ourselves.
Since the UIGEA passed on the butt-end of a securities bill that the president had to sign back in 2006, PokerStars has said that they are operating with the law. According to Stars representatives, there’s no federal, or state law that specifically says they cannot promote gambling within their borders.
In fact, in a recent email, representatives from the site said, “PokerStars has operated in Washington State with the legal opinions that the state could not constitutionally regulate online poker or could not discriminate in favor of local card rooms.”
It seems the Washington Supreme Court did not agree however. As a result, and to avoid any legal ramifications for not only themselves, but the sites customers from the state of Washington, Washington players have been banned for cash poker play on PokerStars.
There’s talk about the change all over the Internet, people are wondering… is Full Tilt next?
Official PokerStars Statement here: http://www.pokerstars.com/poker/news/washington/