WASHINGTON STATE CONSIDERING KENO
4 December 2009
Disdain can wane when there's a tax to gain
The PoliticsFriday column in the Seattle Weekly,
commenting on moves to raise up to $30 million in tax
reveues by allowing four minute keno to be enjoyed in
the state, highlights the apparent moral ambivalence of
state politicians on the issue.
Washington state
is notorious for draconian anti-online gambling laws
that place players in the felony C (serious crime)
category, although a wide and growing range of land
gambling activities are permitted and even encouraged by
the state legislators.
Columnist Caleb Hannan
points out that state Senator Margarita Prentice only
hates certain kinds of gambling, and reports that she is
an 'unlikely ally' of governor Chris Gregoire, who is
considering how four minute keno might be allowed in
order to raise taxes to close a $2.6 billion state
budget deficit.
"State Sen. Margarita Prentice
is no one's idea of a friend to Washington gamblers,"
Hannan writes. "In 2006, she sponsored legislation that
made online poker a felony in line with possessing
kiddie porn or torturing an animal. A bill seen largely
as Prentice's attempt to help Indian gaming interests
that heavily contributed to her re-election campaigns.
"So why is Prentice considering sponsoring the Keno
legislation? Maybe it's that climbing out of a budget
hole on the backs of gamblers is more politically
palatable than taxes."
Online Casino News Courtesy of
Infopowa
More news here.
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