by Hillary LaClair, Senior Editor
April 16, 2009
The continuation of the lawsuit filed by the Interactive Media Entertainment and Gaming Association (iMEGA), which is suing to declare the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA) unconstitutional, will occur on July 6th, according to the pressure group’s website. The Philadelphia-based Third Circuit Court of Appeals has announced its intent to hear the case, which could ultimately, and ideally, result in the UIGEA’s repeal through the judicial system.
“In a letter to counsel for both parties, Marcia M. Waldron, clerk for the appeals court, wrote that iMEGA v. Attorney-General USA, et al (Case Number 08-1981) has been tentatively listed on the merits on Monday, July 6 2009, in Philadelphia, PA,” reads a press release on iMEGA.org. “Oral arguments had originally been scheduled for April, but the Court has since sent iMEGA’s motion to supplement the record with news about the blocking of state lottery payments to its Merit Panel for a decision. The DOJ opposes the motion.”
For those in the online poker industry who may have been living under a rock last year, the state of Kentucky obtained an order from the court to seize the domain names of 141 Internet gambling companies. The companies filed a suit against this order through iMEGA and IGC. While the case was initially decided in favor of the state, iMEGA and IGC then appealed to the Kentucky Court of Appeals, and won. Now the state has filed an appeal with the Kentucky Supreme Court.
Commonwealth attorneys originally asked for more space to outline their discord or more time to pare the document down, however, the brief was submitted consisting of 50 pages - the maximum number allowed by law. The State’s brief opens, “Wagers are accepted in an unregulated underworld without effective age verification, identification, or financial accountability… Persons can instantly wager and lose retirement savings or college funds in secrecy.”
iMEGA recently petitioned that the U.S. Department of Justice provide the Appeals Court with a number of documents showing that New Hampshire and North Dakota credit card companies have been blocking state lottery transactions, which are legal by U.S. law. Such information is vital to iMEGA’s case as it illustrates the arguments of the pressure group that the UIGEA is impractical and leads to “over-blocking.” The DoJ has since declined to provide said documentation.
The brief also gives a lengthy history of arrests and admissions of guilt in the online poker industry. Commonwealth attorneys alluded to Party Gaming Co-Founder Anurag Dikshit’s $300 million settlement with the U.S. Government in December of 2008, decisions by ClearChannel and Infinity Broadcasting to cease running advertisements for online gambling sites in 2003, a $7.2 million settlement between Sporting News and the U.S. Department of Justice in 2006, and the arrests of the founders of Neteller.
“We’re very happy the Court is moving forward on this, and we’re confident the Court will consider the real-world effect of the law, regardless of the DOJ’s opposition,” said Joe Brennan Jr., iMEGA’s chairman.
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