Date Set for Hearing in iMEGA Appeal

Gambling News - June 25, 2009 - Written by Renee

An announcement from the Interactive Media Entertainment and Gaming Association (iMEGA) stated that the US 3rd Circuit Court of Appeals in Philadelphia will be hearing oral arguments in its appeal on July 7. The appeal was filed by iMEGA after it lost its suit against the Department of Justice in the District Court. The suit was filed in a bid to overturn the UIGEA. The Federal Trade Commission and the Federal Reserve are also named as defendants in the suit.

iMEGA will be represented by Eric M. Bernstein and former deputy attorney-general of the United States Stephen A. Saltzburg. Bernstein is familiar with the case, having argued it in the District Court. The defendants have appointed Nicholas J. Bagley and Jacqueline E. Coleman to represent them. Bagley and Coleman are from the civil division of the DoJ in Washington. A three-judge panel consisting of Judge Dolores Korman Sloviter, Judge Thomas L. Ambro and Judge Kent A. Jordan will hear the case.

iMEGA’s arguments will be focused around the void for vagueness issue, according to which it is not possible for the average citizen to figure out what acts are prohibited by the law. iMEGA will be citing the instance of credit card companies blocking online purchases of state owned lotteries by classifying them as gambling transactions. iMEGA chairman Joe Brennan Jr. said of the forthcoming hearing, “This law will finally have to stand on it’s own two feet in court, free from politics and all other outside influences. We feel very confident that when the judges take a look at the law, they will see just how defective it is, and they will overturn it.”