iMEGA NUDGES U.S. ATTORNEY GENERAL

13 July 2007

Still awaiting official US response to suit filed a month ago

The Interactive Media Entertainment & Gaming Association (iMEGA) lawyers are apparently not about to let their litigation against the US Attorney General be stonewalled. Despite the passage of only a month since the suit was filed, lawyers for the pressure group have this week pressed the courts to expedite a response still awaited from the US Department of Justice.

iMEGA's original suit filed in a New Jersey court (see previous InfoPowa reports) by spokesman Joe Brennan and lawyers attacked the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act, which it claims infringes upon basic constitutional rights and sets a dangerous precedent for I-commerce by criminalising the transmission of money where the end activity is illegal in an unspecified location.

If the court rules favourably on the litigation, iMEGA expects it to impact the enforcement of the UIGEA, which seeks to disrupt financial transactions with online gambling sites.

Coincidentally, the 270 days that Congress allowed for the promulgation of specific UIGEA regulations expires this week, with no regulations in sight yet. The US Treasury and the US Attorney General were tasked with designing the regulatory support for the UIGEA when it was rammed through Congress late last year.

iMEGA President Edward Leyden commented: "Two major benefits come immediately from U.S. recognition and regulation of Internet gaming; transparency and tax revenues.

“As with the U.S. financial markets, transparency assures that broad access to relevant data and the balancing forces of a free market all operate to maintain fairness and prevent corruption. Similarly, in this age of a yawning federal "tax gap," U.S. taxation of Internet gaming transactions and companies could generate more than $20 billion during the next several years - all while saving federal law enforcement dollars for the fight against terrorism and other dire issues.”

Online Casino News courtesy of InfoPowa