Minnesota Internet Casino Censorship List Released
The black list of online casino websites that Minnesota is demanding Internet providers block has been released. The group of two hundred online gambling sites is published by the Interactive Media Entertainment and Gaming Association on its website.Representatives of iMEGA commented on the seemingly haphazard and sloppy nature of the list, compiled by the Minnesota Department of Public Safety. Some prominent gaming sites were left off, while obscure sites that don't even do business in the US are included.
“To propose censoring Minnesota residents’ Web access and not to know which sites are even in the US market makes me wonder just how seriously the DPS is taking this action. It comes off as a half-baked attempt at intimidation rather than thoughtful enforcement,” says Joe Brennan Jr., chairman of iMEGA.
The published list includes the letter to the eleven ISPs contacted and ordered to perform the censorship. The weight of the command is backed by an implied threat contained in a reference to copies of the demand being sent to the Federal Communications Commission.
But Minnesota officials were not only lazy with the list, they didn't apparently check with the FCC either. On the front page of the FCC website, the agency advises visitors it has no regulatory authority over the Internet.
“What is most concerning is the shaky legal pretext that Minnesota has used to fashion their order. There is simply no federal law that exists that makes it illegal for all US citizens to gamble on the Internet. None,” says Brennan.
