iMEGA Taking Minnesota Online Gambling Order to Court

May 09, 2009 | News Category: Gaming Law

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The Minnesota Alcohol and Gaming Enforcement Division (AGED) commanded eleven Internet service providers to block 200 Internet casinos from Minnesota residents. iMEGA (Intereactive Media Entertainment and Gaming Association) have filed a lawsuit against John Willems, the director of the Minnesota Department of Public Safety (DPS) Alcohol and Gaming Enforcement Division before the United States District Court in Minneapolis.

iMEGA's lawsuit is seeking to have the state order, regarding the blocking of the 200 Internet gambling websites, removed on the basis that it is a violation of First Amendment rights. iMEGA's lawyers argue that Minnesota may not force Internet Service Providers to block or censor gambling sites as they do not have the authority to do so. iMEGA's representatives contacted the eleven Internet service providers to inform them that they should not consider themselves bound by the Minnesota AGED's order since the state was misusing and incorrectly interpreting the Federal Wire Act.

Joe Brennan Jr., iMEGA's chairman said "It's our hope that Minnesota will recognize their error and drop their blocking order." Mr. Brennan Jr. continued to say that "Censoring Internet access for Minnesota residents would establish a troubling precedent of government intrusion into the online world, and we just can't allow that to happen."

iMEGA representatives have explained that they believe that Minnesota does not have the jurisdiction or the authority to tell ISPs that they have been ordered to block any websites from the residents of Minnesota, especially when the websites in question are not located in Minnesota themselves.

State Representative, Pat Garofalo is also fighting against the order from the DPS. Garofalo introduced legislation in the state Congress that would prevent the DPS from forcing ISPs to block the online gambling sites.

The legislation that Garofalo introduced to the state Congress would require that there be prior legislative approval before the DPS could ask private sector companies to block access to Internet sites.

Garofalo said "I'm certainly not condoning online gambling, but I have serious concerns about government banning access to websites." Garofalo also stated that "Demanding that a private-sector Internet service provider block access to websites is not a proper function of our state government."

The Wire Act of the 1960s specifically deals with the use of telephone and telegraph wires that are used for the transmission of illegal wagers. The act was written at a time when there was no such thing as Internet gambling. Other courts have ruled that the act is not applicable to Internet gambling.