Friday, June 8, 2007

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Group sues U.S. gov't over gambling ban

By Erin Warner

A new media entertainment group and gaming association is taking the U.S. government to court to challenge the country's Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act.

Interactive Media Entertainment & Gaming Association, otherwise known as iMEGA, has filed a lawsuit in a U.S. District court this week that seeks to end last fall's online gaming ban, while singling out Attorney General Alberto Gonzales, the Federal Trade Commission, and the Federal Reserve.

The group's argument is that the law goes against citizens' constitutional rights.

"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," iMEGA's attorney said in a statement.

The intent of the lawsuit is to encourage regulation and taxation of Internet gaming, rather than outright banning the industry, said iMEGA's president, Edward Leyden, in a release.

Leyden also likened the online gambling industry to U.S. financial markets, noting that by having transparency and access to gaming operator's data through regulation, the government could safely generate more than $20 billion in taxes over the coming years.

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