While Rep Barney Frank, chairman of the US House of Representatives Financial Services Committee, announces that next week he plans to introduce a bill to overturn the ban on Internet gambling, the state of Minnesota has decided to utilise a 1961 law, the old Interstate Wire Act, to demand that Internet Service Providers block access by Minnesotans to online gambling sites. Eleven ISPs have been issued an order by the Minnesota Alcohol and Gambling Enforcement Division (AGED) to prohibit access to nearly 200 sites.

The eleven ISPs include AT&T Internet Services, Sprint/Nextel and Verizon Wireless. "We are putting site operators and Minnesota online gamblers on notice and in advance," says John Willems, director of AGED. "Disruption of these sites' cash flow will negatively impact their business models. State residents with online escrow accounts should be aware that access to their accounts may be jeopardized and their funds in peril."

The AGED press release published yesterday states that its actions are believed to be the first attempt by a state to employ this federal statute to restrict access to online gambling sites. The written notice sent to the eleven ISPs cites U.S. Code, Title 18, Section 1084, (d); and the notices were served on Monday, 27 April. Response from the notified ISPs is expected within two to three weeks, at which time issues of non-compliance will be referred to the Federal Communications Commission.

Acknowledging the effort as an initial sample, Willems anticipates the program expanding to address thousands of sites, depending on compliance. He notes that the required technology to restrict geographic access to particular sites is a relatively straightforward procedure on the part of service providers, and that for more than twenty years telecoms have shut down telephone numbers at the request of law enforcement agencies when believed to be involved in illegal activities.

"In Minnesota, and for Minnesotans, the primary issues are legality, state self-governance and accountability," says Willems. "In broader context, the long-running debate on online gambling continues to raise significant issues, including absence of policy and regulation, individual rights, societal impact, international fair-trade practices, and funding for criminal and terrorist organizations."

It has already been pointed out that the AGED statement that online gambling is illegal in all US states is clearly incorrect as many offer online lottery and pari-mutuel betting services. Poker Players Alliance has issued the following statement: "This isn't simply a heavy-handed tactic by the government; this is a clear misrepresentation of federal law, as well as Minnesota law, used in an unprecedented way to try and censor the Internet. I don't know what U.S. Code they're reading, but it is not illegal to play this great American pastime online, and we're calling their bluff.” (E-04.30.09)

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