It sounds like something that happened back in the days of America’s Civil War, but this battle is a very modern one. Casino City, the well respected gaming website, is fighting the United States Justice Department for the right to run advertising for online gambling operations. Michael Corfman and Casino City Inc, a Louisiana-based company in Baton Rouge, have taken the offensive and are suing the Justice Department.

Many companies have already folded under pressure from the government. No longer are there the sparkling online casino ads on Yahoo or Google, and finance companies like American Express and Citibank have withdrawn their services for online gambling payments. Corfman’s lawyers contend that the government’s campaign against online gambling is a violation of the First Amendment right to free speech, as only sports betting on the Internet is actually illegal.

Is this a battle that Corfman will lose? Almost certainly, but it does raise the issue of whether, in the long run, it’s a battle that the US administration can win. At the moment, on the subject of online gambling, the government shares the attitude of the Chinese authorities that are also attempting to prevent their citizens from gambling online. However, Americans are about the biggest source of revenue, accounting for around half of all transactions worldwide, for Internet casino operators and this does not look set to change any time soon.

The United States is already appealing against a World Trade Organization ruling that found in favour of Antigua & Barbuda, a licensing jurisdiction for online gaming companies. In Britain the new Gambling Bill, yet to become law, has provisions for licensing online gambling, which is reportedly the reason that the UK government is so keen to get the Bill passed that it has made huge concessions to the anti-gambling lobby over land-based casinos. It maintains that the new law is essential for the protection of minors and to maintain fair play for those using online gambling services, but it is to be expected that the prospect of the lucrative additional gambling tax revenues is playing a major rôle.

Online gambling is becoming mainstream entertainment and a high proportion of the companies offering the service do it through well-regulated jurisdictions. It is unfeasible for any government to prevent its citizens from accessing such portals, even though they can announce it is illegal to gamble on them. So far the US government’s stance on the subject has not deterred vast numbers of Americans from gambling online.

If Casino City loses its battle with the Justice Department it will make little difference to the many who regularly click on its website. Corfman is reported to have decided that he would sell his site to an overseas company not bound by US laws. The website, the gaming news, the gaming information and the disputed online casino ads will still be there for the whole wide world to see, including US citizens. (E-02.09.05)

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