Recently, the Interactive Media Entertainment and Gaming Association, or iMEGA as it’s commonly called, filed its brief in the Third Circuit Court of Appeals. If you’re not familiar with iMEGA, the organization is suing to declare the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act unconstitutional. Although a judge in a U.S. District Court disagreed with many of iMEGA’s arguments, she granted the group standing to sue. The case is one of several attempts to undo the UIGEA, which completely changed the landscape of the online poker industry in the United States following its last-minute passage during the 2006 Congressional session. PocketFives.com sat down with Ed Leyden, President of iMEGA, to learn about the organization’s revamped approach.
Headed into the appeals process, iMEGA has changed its angle of attack in order to accommodate some of the criticisms of Judge Mary L. Cooper’s District Court decision. Leyden told PocketFives.com, “We’re focusing on pointing out that because the UIGEA is vague under the Fifth and Fourteenth Amendments, it’s unconstitutional. We didn’t make that point very strongly before because our focus was more from an operational point of view. Now, we’re emphasizing that the government is trying to enforce a criminal statute with a term [“unlawful internet gambling”] that’s too vague. The Constitution doesn’t permit that.” The Fifth Amendment concerns due process. The Fourteenth Amendment also deals with due process and was passed during Reconstruction in 1868.
The preliminary arguments made by the organization surround the fact that the UIGEA violates First Amendment and privacy rights by Americans. Leyden explained, “You ought to have the right to place a bet in your own home. If you’re going to regulate something, the government should use the least restrictive means in order to do so.” This is the same tone echoed by lawmakers like Barney Frank (D-MA), who has introduced HR 6870, the Payments System Protection Act, which forces the U.S. Treasury and Federal Reserve to work together with the Attorney General’s office to draw up a list of activities that are legal and illegal under the UIGEA.
Because the UIGEA was passed in the middle of the night with no discussion in the Senate, its language is vague at best. It includes no definition of what “unlawful internet gambling” is, which caused Leyden and company to shift course: “The reality dawned on us that no one can get their arms around what ‘unlawful internet gambling’ means. The Constitution says that if you’re going to prosecute someone, the bare minimum that the government must do is make it pretty clear what conduct is prohibited.”
Finally, iMEGA is working on location in Frankfort, Kentucky to help stop internet gambling from becoming a thing of the past in the state. Kentucky’s Governor, Steve Beshear, is trying to force owners of 141 internet gambling domains to forfeit their rights to these URLs within. A judge granted a continuance last Friday and both sides will now file briefs. The case is slated for a hearing on Tuesday, October 7th. It’s an issue that has virtually unified all sides of the internet gambling industry, as everyone recognizes the gravity of the situation.
Leyden describes what methodology the Governor is using in order to seize the domain names in question: “Right now, what they’re relying upon is sending harsh letters to the registrars involved and counting on them to comply. In this case, the statute that they’re using deals with gambling devices. It requires forfeiture for devices that are seized. For example, if police raided a casino in the state, they could seize slot machines, roulette wheels, and other items.” However, whether this logic applies to domain names remains to be seen. The “registrars” in question may refer to sites like GoDaddy.com that license domain names. Other groups involved in Kentucky include the Interactive Gaming Council (IGC) and Poker Players Alliance (PPA).
For more information on iMEGA, check out the organization’s website. We’ll keep you posted on the fight for the legalization and regulation of online poker in the United States right here on PocketFives.com.
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