iMEGA’s Fight Continues

The road to fighting the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act of 2006 is looking to be a very long one. The legal team of the popular online casino group the Interactive Media Entertainment & Gaming Association (iMEGA) have filed their most recent claim with the US 3rd Cirtuit Court of Appeals. Their objective is to overturn the act that made online casinos illegal in the United States. The name of the lawsuit is iMEGA v. Keisler, et al. Their main targets are the US Department of Justice, the Federal Trade Commission and the Federal Reserve. The people over at iMEGA say that the UIGEA is unconstitutional and are confident that it will get overturned by the appeals court.

The official paperwork was filed into the court of appeals just days after more UIGEA regulations were published by the Federal Reserve System. The newest set of regulations have made it a requirement for all US Banks, Financial Institutions, electronic payment companies, and credit card companies to refuse any transactions that appear to be “unlawful Internet gambling”. Online casinos and supporting organizations have been fighting these laws every step of the way but have not gotten very far as to overturning it. These organizations are very confident that eventually the courts will see their points as valid and over turn the law that they see as extremely unconstitutional. Online casino domains have been seized all over the United States because of this law and are many are continuing to remove any US access to their websites to avoid any trouble whatsoever.

The problem with the newest regulations brought forth by the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act is the vagueness of their objective. They want any online casino activity to be denied by financial institutions all over the United States. The chairman of iMEGA, Joe Brennan Jr. says, "After reviewing the final regulations, we're extremely confident the court will look at this law and agree that UIGEA should be 'void for vagueness. Regulators and Congress have refused to even define what 'unlawful internet gambling' is, and if you cannot even answer that basic question, how exactly are banks supposed to do it?"