Group Sues Over US Online Gambling Law

from the not-so-lawful dept

Wed, Jun 6th 2007 12:45pm — Mike Masnick

It's well known that, last year, Congress hid an anti-online gambling law inside a bill about protecting our ports, knowing that politicians wouldn't vote against protecting our ports. There's been quite an uproar about this, and at least some politicians are starting to reconsider the law. However, that process is apparently too slow for some. A group called the Interactive Media Entertainment & Gaming Association, an organization apparently put together so hastily that it has no website, has filed a lawsuit preventing the government from enforcing the law. The lawsuit apparently also notes that even the WTO says that the US is violating international treaties with its stance on online gambling. While any court case would take years (probably longer than any change to the laws), it could certainly bring some more attention to the law (and potentially prevent its enforcement for the duration of the case).

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sMART gUY, 6 Jun 2007 @ 12:58pm

They will never win the U.S. Government is above the law.
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-Sx-, 6 Jun 2007 @ 1:04pm

How old is this law?
Their WhoIs record was created this year, LOL:

Domain ID:D138572431-LROR
Domain Name:IMEGA.ORG

Created On:30-Jan-2007 21:31:57 UTC

Last Updated On:17-May-2007 15:25:24 UTC
Expiration Date:30-Jan-2008 21:31:57 UTC
Sponsoring Registrar:Go Daddy Software, Inc. (R91-LROR)
Status:CLIENT DELETE PROHIBITED
Status:CLIENT RENEW PROHIBITED
Status:CLIENT TRANSFER PROHIBITED
Status:CLIENT UPDATE PROHIBITED
Registrant ID:GODA-031560546
Registrant Name:Edward Leyden
Registrant Organization:iMEGA
Registrant Street1:1850 K Street NW
Registrant Street2:
Registrant Street3:
Registrant City:Washington
Registrant State/Province:District of Columbia
Registrant Postal Code:20006
Registrant Country:US
Registrant Phone:+1.2026590711
Registrant Phone Ext.:
Registrant FAX:
Registrant FAX Ext.:
Registrant Email: Whois Privacy and Spam Prevention by DomainTools.com
Admin ID:GODA-231560546
Admin Name:Edward Leyden
Admin Organization:iMEGA
Admin Street1:1850 K Street NW
Admin Street2:
Admin Street3:
Admin City:Washington
Admin State/Province:District of Columbia
Admin Postal Code:20006
Admin Country:US
Admin Phone:+1.2026590711
Admin Phone Ext.:
Admin FAX:
Admin FAX Ext.:
Admin Email: Whois Privacy and Spam Prevention by DomainTools.com
Tech ID:GODA-131560546
Tech Name:Edward Leyden
Tech Organization:iMEGA
Tech Street1:1850 K Street NW
Tech Street2:
Tech Street3:
Tech City:Washington
Tech State/Province:District of Columbia
Tech Postal Code:20006
Tech Country:US
Tech Phone:+1.2026590711
Tech Phone Ext.:
Tech FAX:
Tech FAX Ext.:
Tech Email: Whois Privacy and Spam Prevention by DomainTools.com
Name Server:NS1.IMEGA.ORG
Name Server:NS2.IMEGA.ORG
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- Anonymous Coward, 6 Jun 2007 @ 1:19pm
  
  Re: How old is this law?
  "How old is this law?"
  
  How old is what law? By posting the whois-lookup record, I dont understand what law you are referring to... or did you NOT mean "law", and instead meant "website".
  
  Back to the article; The only law that is being referred to is the bill that was passed in October 2006 which is also one of the links in this article (http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20061002/124356.shtml).
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Shun, 6 Jun 2007 @ 3:01pm

So they're holding out for an injunction?
I guess that would be the point of filing the suit, but I am still confused. I guess it's a "kick 'em while they're down" mentality. Still, I like how the article at the gambling911 site mentioned that the U.S. is attempting to modify its treaty obligations to Antigua/Barbuda.

Good luck with that. The U.S. record on living up to its treaty obligations is hardly stellar. It would be nice if they were held to account, for once. Also, since when does the re-negotiation of a bilateral treaty == curing violations of the WTO? Even if they changed their relationship to this one country, they would still be in violation, generally, for favoring their own gambling operations over those of foreign competitors.

I don't gamble, but I can see the basic unfairness of this law. It's a riot, seeing rulings go against the U.S. in WTO proceedings. Such irony.
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patrick, 7 Jun 2007 @ 1:22am

online gaming
Before the govt decides to watch over the morals of US citizens, they should police theirselves.
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