Minnesota Backs Down, Score Another One For Online Poker Says PPA

In the poker world’s ongoing battle since 2006 with the Unlawful Internet Gaming Enforcement Act (or the dreaded UIGEA), the latest front has been Minnesota, where certain branches of law enforcement are attempting to force ISPs (internet service providers) to enforce a Blacklist of some 200 “illegal” gaming operations (including many top poker sites) and blocking residents of the state from accessing those sites.

But in a letter drafted by John Willems, head of the Minnesota Department of Pulbic Safety’s Alcohol and Gambling Enforcement Division, that order has been rescinded. He declared that issues of online gambling are better left handled through the legislative branch of the government.

He cited a civil suit recently filed by iMEGA (Interactive Media Entertainment and Gaming Association) that the original order sent to the ISPs was not legally valid and that it violated both the First Amendment and the Commerce Clause.

iMEGA is fighting another similar battle in Kentucky, one of the first fronts in the UIGEA war and one of the longest raging. Currently the Kentucky State Supreme Court is reviewing a suit brought by Governor Steve Beshear to appeal a ruling from the Court of Appeals that stayed an order to sieze 141 domain names of internet gambling operations (including many top poker sites) that were conducting business “illegally” within its borders.

Another UIEGA related action that iMEGA is considering getting involved in has to do with $35 million in payments of winnings to online poker players in the U.S. that has been seized after a raid of a Manhattan attorney’s office.