Minnesota Expects the FCC to Govern ISPs Re Online Gambling

Providers are given two to three weeks to respond, at which time officials say those failing to comply with the Internet casino censorship will be referred to the Federal Communications Commission for disciplinary action.

Yesterday, Minnesota gambling regulators announced they had instructed Internet service providers working in the state to block residents' access to online gambling sites. Providers are given two to three weeks to respond, at which time officials say those failing to comply with the Internet casino censorship will be referred to the Federal Communications Commission for disciplinary action.

However, the FCC says specifically on its website that it has no regulatory authority over either the Internet or ISPs. Instead, it tells Internet complainants that the Federal Trade Commission handles charges of fraud online.

"The Minnesota officials may be confused, as they seem to be stuck with the concept that the Internet is just an advanced phone system," says Online Casino Advisory's senior gaming analyst, Sherman Bradley. "While the FCC does indeed regulate phone carriers, it has no power over ISPs."

The federal distinction between phone and Internet providers may prove to be a crucial one, Bradley theorized, as the Minnesota action relies on a 1961 federal law controlling relationships between phone companies and gambling operators.

"If a federal law applies only to phone service suppliers, and statutes recognize a difference between phone service and Internet service, how in the world do Minnesota regulators think to apply phone laws to ISPs?"

The FTC website gives details on how to guard oneself on the Internet, reviews law regarding privacy and protection of personal information, and helps those wishing to filter websites from their personal computers to do so. There is no mention of enforcing government censorship or blocking Internet gambling sites.