Free to play online casino and poker games halted by Pokerstars in Washington state

Washington State in the USA has a reputation for tough laws against online gambling despite the state’s lawmakers embracing almost every other form of gambling, and this week PokerStars moved to halt free-to-play games on its website, denying access to residents of the state.

The decision appears to be a consequence of the recent ruling by the Ninth Circuit of U.S. Court of Appeals in the Big Fish Casino case that social casino games are illegal under the State of Washington’s existing gambling laws (see previous reports).

The Washington State Gambling Commission has reportedly received a number of queries on the decision, and has used social network messaging to note the court’s decision and the voluntary move by PokerStars to halt free-to-play activity; see the tweet here.

PokerStars has subsequently confirmed that in response to the court ruling (which did not directly involve the online gambling company) it has immediately blocked free social gaming action on its sites as far as Washington State located players are concerned whilst it reviews the ruling to ensure that its activities are compliant with state regulations.

The operator expressed the hope that the law will be clarified, and that it may be in a positon to reinstate Washington players at some future date.

Bearing in mind the “bad actor” allegations that have been levelled at PokerStars in the past over poker political issues, especially in the futile attempts to legalise online poker in California and more successful efforts in Nevada, the PokerStars move to protect its reputation makes sense.

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