iMEGA DECISION NEXT WEEK?

2 November 2007

Judge Cooper's decision could have a major impact on the UIGEA


Online gambling industry observers will be on the lookout in the coming week for a decision by the US District Court in Trenton, New Jersey that could allow the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act to be challenged in court by the Interactive Media Entertainment and Gaming Association, a pressure group formed to protect the freedoms of the Internet.

Judge Mary L. Cooper has for the past 30 days been considering the complicated legal arguments arising from iMEGA's legal action to challenge and temporarily suspend the US Administration's UIGEA, with the ultimate objective of setting it aside. The US government legal representatives want the action dismissed without further legal argument in open court.

If Judge Cooper decides in favour of the iMEGA action, the debate will be decided judicially after a full court hearing.

"It is our hope that we will see a decision from Judge Cooper before day’s end," an iMEGA.org representative said this week.

"We do recognize, though, that it is up to the discretion of a Federal judge as to how long they wish to take to render a decision. So, though the court said “30 days”, Judge Cooper can and should take as long as she feels is necessary to provide a fully-considered decision.

"Frankly, we feel that it is a good sign that Judge Cooper is taking her time. We believe it confirms iMEGA’s suit is not a “nuisance suit” - one lacking in merit - which would likely have been dismissed immediately."

Meanwhile, the recently released draft of supporting regulations for the UIGEA, open for comment until December, have been entered into the court record.

If Judge Cooper rules in favour of the iMEGA motion, it will open the door to a full-on contest of the UIGEA based on two principal grounds:

1. It is an egregious violation of Americans’ “digital civil rights”, in that Americans should enjoy the same freedoms online that they enjoy in the real world and

2. UIGEA is functionally a bad law. In an effort to protect minors, gambling addicts, and American players from fraud, UIGEA instead - by removing the banks and credit card companies, along with the safeguards they employ every day - has in fact made those groups more vulnerable.

The iMEGA spokesman said: "What is most important to iMEGA is that this law is overturned, so that Americans’ digital civil rights are preserved, and that this bad law does not become a precedent for targeted attacks on other popular Internet entertainment categories.

"Laws have already been proposed that would target other Internet mainstays like social networking, online dating, video games and more. Americans must preserve their right to choose what activities they wish to enjoy online, in the privacy of their homes, in their own free time."

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