UIGEA: Justice Department Denies Additional Information
As the European Commission learns the results of its latest crusade in the battle against the UIGEA, the US based iMEGA (the Interactive Media Entertainment and Gaming Association) has gleamed information on its bid to sue the US government for what it deems an unconstitutional act.
iMEGA has had its request to supplement the record in their case against the US denied by the US Department of Justice (DoJ). iMEGA wanted to add information that came to light during the complications in the New Hampshire and North Dakota state lotteries in its case against the UIGEA.
What the denial essentially means is that valid and important information that would be capable of making or breaking a case cannot be added to the record and so cannot be used as evidence.
The wanted addition stems from an article in a New Hampshire newspaper that noted the reclassification of lottery purchases by the big two credit card companies of Visa and MasterCard. During the state lottery, reclassified payments caused huge numbers of payments to be declined. Payments which used to be filed under ‘government service’ were now being declined as they were being classified as ‘gambling transactions’ – like a poker site or sports gambling site for example – even though under the UIGEA, such payments were allowed as state lotteries were protected under the act.
The credit card companies don’t want to violate rules and will block charges deemed legal in order not to. Lottery sales are now (the Internet accounts for over 24% of lottery purchases in New Hampshire alone) well down as the crisis bites and problems in registration abound. The state of South Dakota is suffering similar problems.
iMEGA chairman Joe Brennan explained, “I’m not surprised the DoJ does not want the Court to have this information, it’s proof of what iMEGA has said from the beginning: this law (UIGEA) is so vague the banks and credit card companies would wind up blocking every gaming transaction - even exempted ones - rather than risk violating the law. It’s no longer just a theory. It’s a fact.”
He went onto add, “Since the last brief was submitted to the court (on November 14, 2008), the final regulations for UIGEA were published and have gone into effect, and as a result, state lotteries - which are exempt from the law - have been affected. The Court should, and would, want to consider this.”
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