Serious Effect of Washington Ban

Internet gambling ban extended? It was reported by the Seattle media this week that the Washington State's ban on online poker extends beyond the state's borders, thanks to geo-locating technology. Even though it supports almost all other types of gambling, Washington State has a strange reputation for having some of the most stringent anti-internet gambling laws in America - laws that include penalizing individual players as if they were Felony C criminals. According to Seattle blogger Curtis Cartier, there's a story about a smart phone user outside Washington State who tried to connect with the Rush Poker site but was blocked by geo-locating exclusion. Apparently, the restrictions have also been affecting other players in regions surrounding Washington State. "This is due to the Geo-IP currently in use by your Internet Service Provider. Your Geo-IP holds the information that determines where our gaming platform will define as your geographical location and unfortunately your current Geo-IP is being identified as Washington State," he was informed. "Your Geo-IP address is assigned solely by your Internet Service Provider and only they have the authority to modify this. "We understand that this is very inconvenient but unfortunately Full Tilt Poker have no control over your advertised Geo-IP. "As such; we strongly suggest contacting your Internet Service Provider and requesting that your Geo-IP be changed to reflect your true location. If this is not possible, the only other suggestion we can offer would be contacting an alternative Internet Service Provider." Cartier also pointed out that the current size of the problem is not known, but that having in ming that it often happens that IP addresses register a user as being hundreds of miles from where they actually are, it's quite possible that these situations will keep happening. In conclusion, Cartier stated: "So, on behalf of Washington: sorry, rest of the nation. We suck!"