iMEGA ONLINE GAMBLING HEARING RESULTS

iMEGA ONLINE GAMBLING HEARING RESULTS

The hearing ended today but the final decision is yet to come!!

Today in Trenton, New Jersey the Honorable Judge Mary L. Cooper heard arguments for a temporary restraining order to halt the enforcement of the UIGEA (Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act).

The hearing ended at 10:35 am Eastern time this morning. Judge Cooper determined that “this was a case against a complicated backdrop” and would require her to review the case further over the coming weeks. No decision was made from the bench today.

iMEGA’s legal team said they felt very confident after today’s hearing.

Jacqueline Coleman Snead, Attorney representing the U.S., was said to have seemed “intimidated” at times. She sat alone in the court room while the iMEGA team arrived with two powerful attorneys and it’s organization representatives. The government was less than commanding in it’s performance.

The Honorable Judge Mary L. Cooper aggressively challenged the U.S. government and it’s Motion to Dismiss.  The U.S. Government repeatedly claimed that iMEGA did not have the legal standing to argue the first amendment law, also stating that the first amendment law did not apply to this case.

Jacqueline Coleman Snead (U.S. Attorney) also claimed that the UIGEA was not intended to prosecute American citizens for betting online and that therefore no U.S. citizen would be adversely affected by this law. iMEGA’s attorneys refuted this and pointed out that the civil portion of the law mentions “any person” could be prosecuted.

iMEGA is seeking judgment restraining the U.S. from enforcing the UIGEA (Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act) of 2006, through it’s complaint iMEGA versus Gonzales. The current law prevents U.S. credit card companies and banks from processing payments to online gambling companies.  According to the Act, violators are subject to civil and or criminal penalties including imprisonment.

iMEGA feels that the law, if allowed to stand, would create a bad precedent that would chill innovation and growth of e-commerce by U.S. firms, and permit the flow of jobs and Internet firms out of the U.S. to avoid stifling the laws.  In the case of UIGEA, iMEGA believes that the embrace of readily available, commercial technology can help remedy the social ills of underage and compulsive gambling, as well as fraud, far better than this law.

iMEGA is accepting individual and corporate member in its trade association, as well as donations to the iMEGA Fund.  Which goes towards the work needed to keep the Internet FREE, open and innovative.

iMEGA believes that the hearing went well today and that could very well mean good news. They said “they feel very confident after today’s hearing.

You can read more about iMEGA here.

Author: GamesAndCasino