Minn. regulators drop bid to block online gambling
Minnesota regulators might have been outplayed as they bet a decades-old Federal law would contribute itself to an online gambling clamp down.
Coming after a lawsuit from the gambling industry, which believes the crusade a infringement of federal commerce and free-speech protections, state officials said Monday they will back out a demand that web service suppliers block access to thousands of internet site*.
In exchange for the state pulling out, the Interactive Media Entertainment and Gaming Association filed court papers Monday ending its court battle.
The chairman of the online gambling trade group did not instantly return a message seeking comment. Nor did a Minnesota spokesman for the Poker Players Alliance, which had fought against the enforcement legal action.
The state had cited a 1961 federal telecommunications law designed to restrict phone calls used for betting. A few legal experts had queried whether the law could be applied to the Internet.
The online gambling trade group attempted a federal injunction in early May, claiming the state acknowledge wasn’t lawfully valid.
“Whether or not iMEGA finally would have held in court is unknown,” said John Willems of the state’s Alcohol and Gambling Enforcement Division in a letter to online providers.
He added, “I believe it may be more appropriate to resolve this problem by working to create clear and effective government policies concerning regulation of gambling.”
11 national and regional telephone and Internet service providers were served up with written notice in late April instructing them to disallow Minnesota occupants from accessing 200 poker and other gambling web site*.
State officials say they aren’t ceasing.
“We have not folded our hand,” said Andy Skoogman, a spokesman for the Minnesota Department of Public Safety, where gambling regulators are housed. He said he expects new strategies for regulating web gambling to go forth.
“The action raised awareness of the broader issue about who is policing the Internet and protecting the consumer,” he said. “At this point, we don’t feel there is anybody. This is an issue that every state is going to face sooner rather than later.”
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