The High-Stakes Gamble to Legalize Gambling
A legislative challenge in Olympia tests a state ban on gambling, backed by a shadowy, well-funded coalition of operators.
The story, cleaned up
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Another attempt will be made to break the law passed by the last legislature making the conducting of gambling resorts a felony. The first step was taken Saturday when there was filed an application for a writ of habeas corpus for Otto Stuth, who was arrested in Olympia last Thursday on a charge of conducting a money-playing slot machine in a local saloon. The application contends the new law is unconstitutional because its title does not fully express the subject matter of the act. There is a strong suggestion of an organized movement behind the effort; gamblers across the state have reportedly pooled money to fund the defense, and a mysterious stranger appeared as the complainant against Stuth only to vanish immediately after the arrest, ensuring a lack of witnesses should the case reach trial.
“It is known that gamblers in all parts of the state have chipped in and that 50 per cent of a big purse is now available, the balance to be paid if the law is knocked out.”
This 1903 legal skirmish highlights the perennial tension between moral legislation and the economic interests of 'vice' industries in Washington. Just as Stuth’s backers pooled funds to challenge the slot machine ban, modern debates over sports betting and online gambling often involve similar high-stakes lobbying to define the boundaries of legality.
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