Attorney Lee Rousso, who is also the Washington state director of the Poker Players Alliance, went before a judge, the other day, to argue his stand that Washington State’s ban on Online Poker was unconstitutional.

According to reports, one of his arguments was that the law serves as a method to protect Washington’s casinos from the competition that Online Poker sites provide, and that as such, the law violates the Commerce Clause which reserves to Congress the right to regulate interstate and international commerce.Most state attempts to regulate the internet run afoul of the Commerce Clause, and Washington’s law, which was passed to protect the state’s brick-and-mortar casinos from otherwise legal out-of-state competition, should be no exception.

What is constitutional does not merit any objective tone anymore, it is replaced by a relative definition wherein state leaders are manipulators. If they feel that you are threatening them, they will find a way to punish you. But if they feel that you can be useful to them, you will be imposed an unreasonable amount of tax. Everything boils down to politics- how the personal interests of some have taken precedence over efficient administration.

The law should concentrate on punishing those who are guilty of possessing child pornography or grand theft auto and not on pursuing an Online Poker ban that couldn’t possibly as serious of a crime. If anything, the Online Poker boom has led to a rapid e-commerce growth. Not to mention, how it helped some less privileged students to send themselves to college.

Since the judge did not side with Rousso’s arguments, the ban that makes playing Online Poker a class c felony will remain.

Naturally, State Attorneys are thankful with the decision, but Rousso remains optimistic, as he said, “Even though it was a loss today, I still think some good things will come of it.”

A rally was organized by The Poker Players Alliance to support the cause of Rousso’s effort. An estimate of fifty people were present in the rally, including professional Poker players Barry Greenstein and Andy Bloch, as did a number of media outlets.

Lee Rousso may have lost this fight, but he will continue to fight for justice until Washington’s ban on Online Poker has been lifted.

Rousso knows that he will not be fighting alone. He has the support of the whole Online Poker community to fight for what is right and just.

Earlier reports said that Rousso recently dropped out of the governor’s race, partly because his legal case against Washington’s ban on Online Poker was starting to make headway.

Rousso announced his candidacy in January, stating that his sole goal was to get rid of Washington’s law banning Online Poker, a law which received support from Washington’s current governor, Chris Gregoire.

From a purely legal standpoint, Rousso believes he has a a 99% chance of winning on the Commerce Clause challenge.

“The State’s primary defense will likely be that I don’t have “standing” to bring the suit. I can cite numerous cases saying I should get my day in court. The State will no doubt cite cases suggesting the opposite conclusion. I think that will be the real battleground,” Rousso said.