UIGEA
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iMEGA
UIGEA Appeal to be Heard on July 6th, By Dan Cypra
- 16th April 2009
(Credit:
Poker News Daily)
In
breaking news out of the United States, it was
revealed that the Third Circuit Court of Appeals
will hear lawyers from the Interactive Media Entertainment
and Gaming Association (iMEGA) argue why the Unlawful
Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA) is unconstitutional.
Last
March, Judge Mary L. Cooper granted the organization
standing to sue on behalf of the internet gambling
industry. However, she disagreed with many of
iMEGA’s arguments in the process, prompting
the appeal. In a letter from the Third Circuit
Court of Appeals, its clerk informed the parties
involved that the case has “been tentatively
listed on the merits on Monday, July 6, 2009 in
Philadelphia [Pennsylvania]. It may become necessary
for the panel to move this case to another day
within the week of July 6, 2009. Counsel will
be notified if such a change occurs.” Further
information will be given as to whether oral arguments
will be heard, and if so for how long, within
one week of the disposition date.
Within
seven days, iMEGA and attorneys for the U.S. Department
of Justice must advise as to who will serve as
counsel in the proceedings on July 6th. Each party
must also identify whether its attorney is a member
of the bar of the Court. iMEGA Chairman Joe Brennan
is looking forward to the organization’s
day in court, which is now just two months away.
He told Poker News Daily, “The court is
going to look at the entire case without technicalities
and filing dates. They are going to solely decide
it on the merits, not based on anything political
or regarding procedure. That’s why you have
a judicial system.”
iMEGA
is in the midst of a spat with the Federal Government
over whether information on the North Dakota and
New Hampshire lotteries should be included in
the record. Since its brief was filed, iMEGA has
learned that customers trying to purchase legal
lottery tickets with credit cards are being blocked
from doing so. State lotteries have a specific
carve-out from the UIGEA. The issues have arisen
apparently due to the onset of the UIGEA regulations,
which were enacted on January 19th and command
full compliance by the financial services industry
by December 1st. The regulations have caused Visa
and MasterCard to engage in over-blocking rather
than risk breaking the law.
The
Department of Justice claims that because the
new information was not filed by the proper deadline
in iMEGA's brief, it should not be included in
the record. Also absent from iMEGA’s official
brief are the final regulations of the UIGEA,
which were accepted by the White House Office
of Management and Budget (OMB) in November as
so-called “midnight rules.” Brennan
told Poker News Daily why the request to supplement
the record might be taken seriously by the Court
of Appeals: “They are aware that their decision
is going down in the history books. They know,
we know, and the Department of Justice knows that
not accepting our information may be grounds for
an appeal.” If unsuccessful, iMEGA could
appeal once again to the Third Circuit or seek
the intervention of the U.S. Supreme Court.
Originally,
the Third Circuit had asked iMEGA for its availability
this month for oral arguments. On the two month
delay, Brennan speculated, “It tells me
that the Court is giving the case more serious
consideration than a lot of people thought they
were.” There has been no indication as to
when the Court of Appeals will decide the future
of iMEGA’s request to supplement the record.
The case is numbered 08-1981 and is entitled “iMEGA
v. Attorney-General USA, et al.”
iMEGA
is also a leading party in the case pitting the
Commonwealth of Kentucky’s Justice and Public
Safety Cabinet against the owners of 141 internet
gambling domain names, which risk forfeiture.
iMEGA has until June 1st to file its brief in
the case.
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