SKUNX
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- Joined
- Sep 30, 2006
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The online gambling industry could see some much needed relief with the announcement that an independent group is seeking judgment restraining the United States from enforcing the "Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act of 2006" (UIGEA). The current law prevents U.S. credit-card companies and banks from processing payments to online gambling businesses.
Gambling911.com first reported that The Interactive Media Entertainment & Gaming Association (iMEGA) filed the request Tuesday.
"There is something brewing in the online gambling industry that will be very positive for everyone," said one respective industry expert and now we learn what that positive development is.
The suit filed today in U.S. District Court outlined how the Unlawful
Internet Gambling Enforcement Act infringes upon basic constitutional
rights and sets a dangerous precedent for I-commerce by criminalizing
the transmission of money if the end result is illegal in some
unspecified place. The injunction, if granted, will prevent the
government from enforcing the UIGEA and pave the way for Internet
gambling to resume pending further order of the court.
"The purpose of the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act is to
prevent Americans from engaging in their fundamental rights to conduct
their lives in the manner they wish to live it - to be free from the
government imposing public morality in the privacy of one's home", says
Eric M. Bernstein, Esq., attorney for iMEGA.
The lawsuit also seeks to stop the enforcement of the UIGEA based on the
recent ruling of the World Trade Organization in a final appeal which
found the United States in contempt of treaty obligations regarding
Internet gambling. Washington spokesmen recently said the United States
would not appeal the ruling in favor of Antigua and Barbuda, the
Caribbean nation which won the WTO challenge against the US and one
nation where Internet gambling is legal. Instead, Washington says, the
US will try to modify its treaty obligation to eliminate Internet
gambling. The WTO ruling permits sanctions to be imposed against the
US.
----
Christopher Costigan, Gambling911.com
Originally published June 5, 2007 5:00 pm ET
Gambling911.com first reported that The Interactive Media Entertainment & Gaming Association (iMEGA) filed the request Tuesday.
"There is something brewing in the online gambling industry that will be very positive for everyone," said one respective industry expert and now we learn what that positive development is.
The suit filed today in U.S. District Court outlined how the Unlawful
Internet Gambling Enforcement Act infringes upon basic constitutional
rights and sets a dangerous precedent for I-commerce by criminalizing
the transmission of money if the end result is illegal in some
unspecified place. The injunction, if granted, will prevent the
government from enforcing the UIGEA and pave the way for Internet
gambling to resume pending further order of the court.
"The purpose of the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act is to
prevent Americans from engaging in their fundamental rights to conduct
their lives in the manner they wish to live it - to be free from the
government imposing public morality in the privacy of one's home", says
Eric M. Bernstein, Esq., attorney for iMEGA.
The lawsuit also seeks to stop the enforcement of the UIGEA based on the
recent ruling of the World Trade Organization in a final appeal which
found the United States in contempt of treaty obligations regarding
Internet gambling. Washington spokesmen recently said the United States
would not appeal the ruling in favor of Antigua and Barbuda, the
Caribbean nation which won the WTO challenge against the US and one
nation where Internet gambling is legal. Instead, Washington says, the
US will try to modify its treaty obligation to eliminate Internet
gambling. The WTO ruling permits sanctions to be imposed against the
US.
----
Christopher Costigan, Gambling911.com
Originally published June 5, 2007 5:00 pm ET