Minnesota Requests Block Of Online Gambling Sites

May 5, 2009 - Wrote By Glen

In the land of the free, we regularly hear of foreign nations, particularly communist and non-democratic unions blocking websites from gaining access through Internet Service Providers(ISPs). Being that we value freedom of speech and press as per the First Amendment of the American Constitution, we would not expect to see such an affront to civil rights in our nation. This is, sadly, not always the case. A Minnesota bureaucracy, the state Department of Public Safety, recently sent letters to 11 Telephone and Internet Service Providers requesting that they block access to 200 different online gambling websites and their phone numbers in accordance to the Wire Act of 1961.

Though the letters themselves were not specific, John Willems, director of Minnesota's Alcohol and Gambling Enforcement Division (AGED), has stated he expects a response from each of the 11 companies within three weeks. AGED has dually noted that they will forward the names of the non-complying companies that ignore the missive to the Federal Communications Commission for further pursuits. In truth, it has yet to be decided whether or not the Wire Act of 1961 can even affect online gambling - In 2002, the U.S. Court of Appeals determined that the Wire Act bans sports betting, but does not extend to other games.

The Federal Government has already made it difficult to enter the USA Online Gambling world. In 2006 a bill was signed into effect that made it unlawful for banks and credit-card companies illegal to process online bets. This legislation was inserted last-minute into a national security bill that had nothing to do with online gambling. Online gambling has, ever since then, been a legal grey area, with arguments on both sides of the fence. This lack of complete Federal Regulation is a clear example that should be followed - make it difficult to gamble over the Internet, but do not completely block it. Minnesota needs to rethink their strategy before they begin to limit the rights of an otherwise free state.