iMEGA vs. USA Decision Delayed

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Published: Thursday, September 27, 2007 mgowanbo.cc

Judge will make a ruling on UIGEA within next 30 days

The legal attempt by the Internet Media Entertainment & Gaming Association to stop the implementation of the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act in its tracks with a temporary restraining order based on legal and Constitutional arguments made mainstream media headlines Wednesday as government and iMEGA legal representatives presented oral arguments after weeks of written submissions and counter submissions.

Hearing the arguments in the US District Court in Trenton, New Jersey was the Honourable Judge Mary L. Cooper, who reportedly showed a keen and at times demanding interest in the arguments being presented, but said that the issue was a complicated one on which she would rule within the next 30 days.

Judging by Associated Press reports, both sides appear to have pretty much stayed with the arguments presented in their written briefs in attacking and defending a law that seeks to prohibit financial transactions with online gambling companies and has caused economic havoc in the industry.

In suing the federal government, the Internet Media Entertainment & Gaming Association claims that Internet gambling is protected by First Amendment privacy rights, and that filtering technology already exists to make sure children and compulsive gamblers cannot access offshore betting sites.

The suit, filed in U.S. District Court in Trenton, asks for an immediate halt to enforcement of the law, and ultimately seeks to have it declared unconstitutional. The U.S. Justice Department is seeking to have the lawsuit dismissed.

iMEGA President Edward Leyden said the online gambling industry wants to become government regulated, including paying taxes and having its actions monitored by government inspectors.

“That’s exactly what we want—that kind of protection for our customers, kind of like a Securities and Exchange Commission for online gambling,” Leyden said. “Nobody in this industry wants to be tagged with the reputation of not being straight with the players.”

In court papers filed in the case, the government has claimed the lawsuit should be dismissed because the association does not have the legal standing to challenge the law, that there is no First Amendment violation, and that the association’s members have not proved a credible threat of being prosecuted under the law, although it does concede that such prosecutions might happen in the future.

The law is also under attack internationally. Several countries are seeking compensation from the U.S. on the basis of a World Trade Organisation ruling that American Internet gambling restrictions are illegal and discriminatory in nature.

Judge Cooper heard oral arguments Wednesday from government legal representative Jacqueline Coleman Snead and a strong iMEGA team. The hearing had been delayed to enable government to assemble a case, and was originally scheduled for September 4. The proceedings were concluded [for now] just after mid-morning.

iMEGA may have been a largely unknown trade body a few weeks ago, but there are few in the industry who are unfamiliar with the organisation now - or with its so far impressive legal challenge to an unpopular and damaging US law.