iMEGA actions continue

The Interactive Media Entertainment and Gaming Association (iMEGA) is up to speed on its two major legal actions against officials in two states overreaching their authority in actions against the online gambling industry.
In the action against Kentucky governor Steve Beshear’s attempt to hijack 141 international domain names owned by parties domiciled outside the bluegrass state, iMEGA and the IGC, supported by many civic rights and Internet freedom groups, were successful earlier this year in overturning a lower court’s order backing the governor’s actions after launching an appeal with the Kentucky Court of Appeals. The current status of the action is that the governor has appealed against the appeal ruling, taking the case to the state Supreme Court.
To contest the governor’s action, iMEGA and other interested parties have until June 1st 2009 to file responses to the governor’s claims. iMEGA spokesmen have said that this does not present a problem as nothing really new has emerged from the governor’s latest move, and the responses have been complete for the past two months and will be filed shortly.
“We sat on it because we didn’t feel the need to give Commonwealth attorneys more time than necessary,” explained a confident iMEGA exec. “They’ll get a chance to submit a rebuttal brief.”
In Minnesota, iMEGA is challenging an inadequately researched attempt by enforcement officials to ban a list of alleged online gambling websites at Internet Service Provider level, using the Wire Act 1961 as their reference point.
John Willems, Director of the Department of Public Safety’s Alcohol and Gambling Enforcement Division is the man responsible for the latest American attempt to censor the Internet, sending his much criticised list to 11 ISPs and demanding that the sites be banned in a breathtaking excess of jurisdictional authority.
iMEGA was quick to take up the issue, corresponding with the ISPs and advising them that the AGED demand lacked jurisdiction and authority, and encouraging them to decline it.
iMEGA has also filed a legal action against Willems, but discussion between the parties is ongoing and it may yet be possible to find an out of court solution. It is additionally reported that Willems will encounter stiff resistance from the ISPs to his censorship demands, and that the Minnesota AG has agreed for now not to force the issue.

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