As reported by OnlinePokerReport.com, a bill to regulate internet poker in Washington State (HB1114) was prefiled for introduction by Rep. Sherry Appleton (D23) on Friday, January 9th.


This bill would allow state licensed card rooms and Tribal casinos to offer games online, where those games are offered on a licensed and regulated platform. This will allow the top international providers the opportunity to provide services to those card rooms and casinos. There is no 'bad actors' clause, but the providers are not allowed to operate their own room, only provide business2business services to existing card rooms. This means the top platforms operating as networks, offering skins to local interests, with shared player liquidity on common platforms.

This bill also opens the door to interstate cooperation, where player liquidity could be further spread on platforms licensed in multiple states.

Most of the regulatory detail is left up to the Commission to establish. This will allow the Commission to adapt more rapidly, to changing technologies and markets, than if every small detail was codified in the RCW, where any changes would need to be done by the legislature.

You can find, and follow, the bill here. On that page, you will find links to the full text of the bill, what progress it has made, and a button to give you an opportunity to comment on the bill. It would be good to have as many WA players as we can give positive feedback on this bill.

I feel like this was out of left field. Was this expected? I'm not from WA but what can I do (Wisconsin resident) to help.

Great job Curtis. I know it is a great step just to try and get discussion going. Best of luck in your mission.

I read the bill for an article I am writing. I was most interested in the 18+ age. Do you think that may become a problem for interstate pools? The three existing states are 21+. I wonder if states with 21+ ages will have issues sharing liquidity with 18-20 year old players.

Curtinsea has been working on this for some time.

It is proof of the line from Knight Rider, "One man can make a difference."

Congratulations on your success in getting the bill introduced Curtinsea. Impressive work you have done!

We actually spent a lot of time discussing the 18 or 21 issue. Initially, I felt pretty strong that it should be 21, that it would be an easier sell that way. But in the end, existing law says 18 (for pull tabs, for lottery tickets, etc) so we didn't add language to make it 21 for online poker only.

Will that be a problem in an interstate pool? Perhaps, but it doesn't need to be. Maybe the other states will drop the age to 18 (there is no alcohol served online, no real reason to be 21) to improve their own player pools.

We will see if the age issue comes up. I wouldn't spend much energy fighting an increase to 21 if it is a sticking point.

curinsea thank you for any (all the) work you put into this. i'm in WA (Seattle) and wouldn't mind getting involved in this, let me know if there is anything I can do.

Is there anything people outside the US can do to help (I am from the UK)? I guess this question applies generally to efforts accross the US, not just this particular initiative.

I noticed that Vincent Buys (Rep. from district 42) is a cosponsor. I used to live in his district, but I was gerrymandered into a neighboring district. I've spoke directly with him a few years ago about the topic when the PPA had our lobbying day in Olympia. He was receptive then to discussing the issue and apparently now is on our side. Since then I've been to two town hall meetings where he spoke and I brought up the issue each time. No idea if I had any impact on his opinion, but its great to see he's willing to help us out. Probably not a bad idea to hit him with an email as well thanking him for the support if you're inclined to throw out some communications.

As much as we need players to get involved and taking the steps necessary to advance the issue, we also need industry to get involved as well. It wouldn't hurt to have the PPA show support as well.

Very cool. A good first step. Would obviously much rather allow a fully open market rather than tying things to B&M rooms, but whatever we can do to get things non-felonious is certainly going the right direction.

We really need folks in Washington State to do two things, both very quick and painless . . . .

This first is to comment in support of the bill. It is easy to do, here is where to do it. I commented on a bill this morning, and one of my state reps e-mailed me in short order. All of the legislators see these comments, and all three of your legislators are notified. This is an important step. You don't have to get too elaborate, just indicate support for the bill, and a little bit about why you think it should be a regulated activity instead of a prohibited one.

The second thing to do is to send an e-mail to Rep. Hurst. If Hurst does not schedule the bill for a hearing, which is completely up to him, then the bill goes nowhere. We must urge him to hear the bill.

One other thing you can do is write your state senator and ask him to introduce a companion to HB 1114 in that chamber. This is more of a long shot, but if we can get a bill there, we have two chances at getting a hearing and advancing the bill to the 2nd half of the session.

Sad to report that HB1114 is dead for this session - http://www.onlinepokerreport.com/153...-this-session/

I have mixed feelings, tbh. On the one hand, I can't help but feel this was a missed opportunity, that if we had had more and earlier support from industry, as well as more player involvement in the cause, we might have been successful in this round.

OTOH, the bill did have the anticipated effect of bringing in some industry lobbying, attention to our State from the poker media, and brought the stakeholders together for important conversations on the subject.

I've always taken a realistic view of this process. I didn't expect to pass a bill this session, though I had hoped for a hearing. I expected it would take actually getting a bill introduced to bring the industry here to lobby, and that happened as well.

Don't let this reaffirm cynicism . . . . the efforts of players, and players alone, got the conversation started, pointed the parties in the right direction, and carried the message to lawmakers in our state.

Be positive, we are so far ahead of where we were this time last year, this can only be viewed as a successful first step.

Wow, I really dislike the way the legislative process works!

Anyway, awesome work still. Eventually we will reach the tipping point and many states will start to pass pro online poker legislation. I plan to remain diligent in this pursuit.

So sorry to hear this Curtis. I admire your efforts and all the hard work you've done and all the progress you've made so far in WA. As you said, it's a long process to get a bill passed, and it was through your dedication and hard work that the bill was introduced. That was a huge step, and I understand the legislation you wrote is being looked at and/or can be used on a national level.