I posted about Washington's recent ban on online gambling recently, and in the articles I referenced, the Washington State Horse Racing Commission came up a few times in the articles I referenced. Long story short, in spite of the new online gambling prohibition, you can still place horse-racing bets online.

I figured I'd get some source information, so I fired off an email to the Washington State Horse Racing Commission today to see what they had to say about it.

Without having heard back from them yet, I can assume that the problem the government has with online gambling is that the Feds are having a difficult time tracking down exactly where the money from online gambling is going -- especially if it's going oversees. The Horse Racing Comission is controlled by the state, so there's no risk of money being funneled to terrorists.

It's a military strategy, I suppose -- the government is working to cut off supply lines to the "bad guys." But like many other laws passed in the name of anti-terrorism, this doesn't really stop terrorism. Terrorists were around before online gambling existed, and they're able to get money from sympathizers all over the planet. And in the end, the ones that suffer most are your average law-abiding citizens who just want to play a little online poker without being branded a felon.

In any event, I'll post whatever the Horse Racing Commission says when I receive their email.