Proponents of North Dakota's bill to make the state a home for Internet poker sites face stiff opposition from the U.S. government.
In letters to Nevada and the U.S. Virgin Islands, Justice Department attorneys have said they believe Internet gambling runs afoul of federal laws against using wire communications to place bets.
The agency responded when legislatures in Nevada and the Virgin Islands approved bills to authorize and regulate Internet casinos.
"Moreover, the federal money laundering statutes are applicable to unlawful Internet gambling businesses," Michael Chertoff, then an assistant U.S. attorney general, said in an August 2002 letter to the Nevada Gaming Control Board.
Chertoff is now head of the federal Department of Homeland Security.
Rep. Jim Kasper, R-Fargo, is sponsoring legislation that would authorize North Dakota's attorney general to license and regulate Internet poker sites, and the players that patronize North Dakota-based sites.
No other state licenses Internet poker sites. They are now based in several countries, including Costa Rica and Antigua, a Caribbean island nation.
Kasper's legislation, which was narrowly approved in the House, is getting its first Senate hearing Tuesday. Kasper said he has consulted attorneys about whether his bill would violate federal law, and he believes the issue is not as clear-cut as the Justice Department believes.
"A lot of these things are veiled threats ... to try to stop something that they know if it goes through, will ultimately not be what they want," Kasper said. "It probably is bluffing, and I believe the stakes are high enough that the state of North Dakota, and the people of our state, need to call their bluff."
Supporters of the legislation point to a November 2002 ruling by the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans, in which a three-judge panel concluded a federal anti-gambling law, called the Wire Act, did not apply to all Internet gambling. It was intended to target sports wagering, the judges said.
I'm a huge supporter of state rights. Local government over a centralized government. In essence, something that most conservatives preach-- until a state wants to do something that conservatives object too, like legalizing same-sex marriages, medical marijuana, or online poker. It's a bullshit hypocritical stance that Republicans take, and it's about time that states start flexing some muscle and challenging the feds.
AP Wire | 03/05/2005 | Internet poker bill: Feds say it's illegal
