Judge bans Internet gambling company from operating in Missouri

>Judge bans Internet gambling company from operating in Missouri
>
> http://www.nando.net/newsroom/ntn/info/052597/info14_11497.html
>
>Copyright (c) 1997 Nando.net
>Copyright (c) 1997 Kansas City Star
>
>KANSAS CITY, Mo. (May 25, 1997 00:31 a.m. EDT) -- A Missouri judge
>on Friday banned an Internet gambling company from operating in the
>state.
>
>The Jackson County ruling places Missouri in the forefront of an
>emerging national debate that will determine whether cyber gambling
>fades or evolves into a $10 billion-a-year business, as some
>industry analysts project.
>
>Visiting St. Francois County Circuit Judge Stan L. Murphy also
>ordered that Interactive Gaming & Communications Corp. pay more than
>$66,000 in fines and legal expenses. Interactive Gaming has refused
>and plans to take its fight to federal court.
>
>Among other terms Murphy imposed on Interactive Gaming, which
>operates out of Blue Bell, Pa.:
>
>- Interactive Gaming cannot market, offer or promote gambling in
>Missouri.
>
>- Interactive Gaming must post a notice on its home page that
>Missouri residents cannot register to gamble, and it must immediately
>reject any who try. It must also notify the state attorney general if
>anyone does try to register.
>
>- At its expense, the company must provide any of its computer
>records or office records for any audits requested by Missouri
>Attorney General Jay Nixon.
>
>The judge also found that Interactive Gaming's subsidiary, Global
>Casinos Ltd. in the Caribbean, is a mere "alter ego" of the
>Pennsylvania firm. Interactive Gaming uses offshore gambling
>accounts to try to circumvent Missouri law, he ruled. His ruling
>applies to only Interactive Gaming and Global.
>
>About 20 offshore companies offer gambling on the Internet and more
>are coming, said Sue Schneider, managing editor of Rolling Good
>Times OnLine, an Internet news service. Slot machines, card games,
>roulette and other casino-style games can be played after
>establishing a cash account that is drawn on during play.
>
>Nixon said he would watch for any other companies operating in
>Missouri and act on any complaints against them.
>
>He said this was the first time in the United States that an ongoing
>Internet gambling operation had been sued and stopped. He said the
>company violated state gambling laws. The gambling business never
>gained momentum in the state, because Nixon last month filed a
>restraining order against it.
>
>The issue of Internet gambling is getting attention elsewhere.
>
>In Wisconsin, a state case is pending in which the state sued a
>company that was about to start. A federal case also is pending in
>Wisconsin in which a gambling company has sued to get a judgment on
>whether Internet gambling is legal. A bill to make Internet gambling
>illegal failed in Congress last year; a similar measure is pending
>this year.
>
>As more Internet gambling companies open or announce plans to start,
>Nixon said, "they are watching our case and the one in Wisconsin."
>
>Philadelphia lawyer Lawrence Hirsch, who represents the company,
>said Friday that the fight between Nixon and Interactive Gaming just
>started.
>
>"We'll send them a lawsuit in federal court," Hirsch said. "They're
>trying to murder a legitimate business."
>
>The company will put the warning on its Internet site that Missouri
>residents are forbidden to play, he said, "and we'll tell them why."
>
>"Do the people of Missouri think they need to get Jay's permission
>to get on the Internet and spend $25?" he asked.
>
>Murphy signed the default order following unopposed testimony
>Thursday in Kansas City from assistant Missouri attorneys general.
>Hirsch said he chose not to appear.
>
>Assistant Attorney General J. Dale Youngs called witnesses,
>presented evidence and drove home his points for four hours.
>Highlights of the hearing included:
>
>- On Feb. 25 an investigator called the web site and a woman named
>Marjorie assured him gambling would be legal. On March 17 he got a
>user ID number and the password "Daisy." He mailed in $100 to play
>in a slots tournament. Nixon soon filed against Interactive Gaming.
>
>- On April 24, Interactive Gaming agreed not to accept business from
>Missouri residents and to put a warning to them on its home site.
>
>- From May 9 to 20 another undercover investigator registered to
>gamble, mailed in $200 to start an account and gambled. That was
>unintentional, Hirsch said Friday,"stupidity by employees."
>
>- Missouri strictly controls gambling and checks backgrounds of all
>companies that apply for licenses. The FBI had served a search
>warrant at Interactive Gaming headquarters in February. The company
>does not know the reason for the search and no charges have been
>filed, Hirsch said Friday.
>
>- All the income from Interactive Gaming comes from gambling
>accounts that clients deposit in Grenada. If customers decided to
>suddenly withdraw all that money, the company would be more than $1
>million short.
>
>Hirsch said Friday that Interactive Gaming's only gambling accounts
>in Missouri came from the two investigators. He hopes for more later,
>he said, when courts establish that citizens or federal laws control
>Internet gambling.
>
>"They say they're not under Missouri law," Nixon said, "but that
>hasn't prevented them from taking Missourians' money."
>
>By JOE LAMBE, Kansas City Star
>
>************************************************************************
>Michael A. Geist
>Associate in Law, Columbia University, School of Law
>435 West 116th Street
>New York, NY, 10027, U.S.A.
>e-mail: mag76@columbia.edu
>url:    http://www.columbia.edu/~mag76
>
>

#			Thanks;  Bill
# Bill Stewart, +1-415-442-2215 stewarts@ix.netcom.com
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In <3.0.1.32.19970527025203.00739e9c@popd.ix.netcom.com>, on 05/27/97 
   at 02:52 AM, Bill Stewart <stewarts@ix.netcom.com> said:

>>Judge bans Internet gambling company from operating in Missouri
>>
>> http://www.nando.net/newsroom/ntn/info/052597/info14_11497.html
>>
>>Copyright   1997 Nando.net
>>Copyright   1997 Kansas City Star
>>
>>KANSAS CITY, Mo. (May 25, 1997 00:31 a.m. EDT) -- A Missouri judge
>>on Friday banned an Internet gambling company from operating in the
>>state.


This comes as no suprise to anyone who was in KCMO durring the fight over
riverboat gambling.

The politions there have sold their souls to the big cassinos for the
prommise of tax dollars that they could then use to buy votes.

They now see Internet Gaming as a threat to their revenue stream (both
riverboat cassinos & state sponsored numbers racket).

- -- 
- ---------------------------------------------------------------
William H. Geiger III  http://www.amaranth.com/~whgiii
Geiger Consulting    Cooking With Warp 4.0

Author of E-Secure - PGP Front End for MR/2 Ice
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At 12:04 PM -0700 5/27/97, Tim May wrote:
>(And the lotteries have incredibly bad payoff odds...something like 30-40%,
>if I remember correctly. A slot machine with these odds would be shut down
>instantaneously as being a theft device! The state lotteries are often
>called "taxes on stupidity," and none of the well-off folks I know ever
>play this sucker's game. So, I should be rejoicing that Ma and Pa Kettle
>are squandering their paychecks on State-run gambling...but the principle
>is the thing I object to.)

I object to the state, providing addictive substances/experiences when
private enterprise could do the job.  If they are against addiction, then
they should set a good example.


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At 12:12 PM -0500 5/27/97, William H. Geiger III wrote:

>>>KANSAS CITY, Mo. (May 25, 1997 00:31 a.m. EDT) -- A Missouri judge
>>>on Friday banned an Internet gambling company from operating in the
>>>state.
>
>
>This comes as no suprise to anyone who was in KCMO durring the fight over
>riverboat gambling.
>
>The politions there have sold their souls to the big cassinos for the
>prommise of tax dollars that they could then use to buy votes.
>
>They now see Internet Gaming as a threat to their revenue stream (both
>riverboat cassinos & state sponsored numbers racket).

Also no surprise here in California, where gambling is a crime--unless the
State of California runs the gambling operation. E.g., the Lottery system.

(Actually, there are a few exceptions to this state monopoly on gambling.
Indian reservations have the right, though this right is being challenged
up and down the state, to run certain types of casinos. And "card clubs"
are permitted, under certain conditions.)

To paraphrase a line from my .sig, there's something wrong when the State
outlaws some behavior or practice but then sets itself up as the monopoly
supplier.

What's next? California Houses of Sexual Relief? ("Our schools win too!")

I've found that even nonlibertarians are chagrinned by this display of
governmental greed. If something is a crime, it's a crime. I don't think
gambling is a crime, but the State has decreed that is. Hard to believe
they bust casual gamblers who bet on bowling games (a recent case) while
running their own lottery.

(And the lotteries have incredibly bad payoff odds...something like 30-40%,
if I remember correctly. A slot machine with these odds would be shut down
instantaneously as being a theft device! The state lotteries are often
called "taxes on stupidity," and none of the well-off folks I know ever
play this sucker's game. So, I should be rejoicing that Ma and Pa Kettle
are squandering their paychecks on State-run gambling...but the principle
is the thing I object to.)

--Tim May

There's something wrong when I'm a felon under an increasing number of laws.
Only one response to the key grabbers is warranted: "Death to Tyrants!"
---------:---------:---------:---------:---------:---------:---------:----
Timothy C. May              | Crypto Anarchy: encryption, digital money,
tcmay@got.net  408-728-0152 | anonymous networks, digital pseudonyms, zero
W.A.S.T.E.: Corralitos, CA  | knowledge, reputations, information markets,
Higher Power: 2^1398269     | black markets, collapse of governments.
"National borders aren't even speed bumps on the information superhighway."

>>KANSAS CITY, Mo. (May 25, 1997 00:31 a.m. EDT) -- A Missouri judge
>>on Friday banned an Internet gambling company from operating in the
>>state.

As my daddy once said, "Son, follow the money."

Dispite the clearly boogyman media coverage, for example, about teens using
their parent's credit cards to gamble online, all this hand wringing and
posturing by states is merely about trying to prevent competition to their
monopoly gaming franchise.  Although online gaming is strictly in a nascent
stage, the revenue generated by state run or regulated gaming has become
too large and important to state politicians to allow unregulated (i.e.,
taxed) Internet business to muscle in.  Hell, the lotteries are nothing
more than a state franchised number's racket.

The mistake Interactive Gaming and some other online gaming sites have made
is to have any corporate presence in the US.  I guess its a bit of bravado
on the part of these entrepreneurs, mostly American, to "tickle the
dragon's tail" and not expect to get whipped once in a while.

For excellent coverage of this issue, see Glenn Barry's coverage in Rolling
Good Times OnLine's site at http://www.rgtonline.com/Nambling.html

--Steve


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