BATON ROUGE, La., Aug. 26 /PRNewswire/ -- Casino City, Inc. reported today
that Attorney General John Ashcroft and U.S. Attorney David Dugas have been
summoned by the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Louisiana.
Earlier this month Casino City filed a complaint against the United States
Department of Justice seeking a declaratory judgment that advertising online
casinos and sportsbooks is constitutionally protected commercial free speech
under the First Amendment of the United States.
Over the past year the Justice Department sent threatening letters to the
National Association of Broadcasters and other organizations and issued
subpoenas to a variety of media outlets. These actions have been widely
reported and have had a chilling effect upon free speech. Popular Internet
portals including Google and Yahoo have ceased accepting advertising for
online casinos and sportsbooks. Many individuals view the actions of the DOJ
as a form of blackmail based on the belief of a few government officials
rather than established legal principles.
Under the terms of the summons, the Department of Justice must answer the
complaint within 30 days. The complaint argues the application of laws cited
by the DOJ in its threatening letters is unconstitutional and that
intimidation through threats of their application violates the First Amendment
right to free speech. Casino City and the DOJ must file a status report by
December 2nd, and a scheduling conference is set for December 16th.
The government could concede advertising online gaming sites is legal.
Casino City's attorney Barry Richard says " ... it's possible and hopeful, so
far as my client is concerned, that the Department of Justice will say 'We
didn't mean to threaten organizations that are engaged in the type of
advertising that your client is,' and that would be fine with us. It would
clear the air for those people who have been and would like to continue to do
this."
Casino City operates http://www.CasinoCity.com, the most popular gaming
site on the web covering online casinos and sportsbooks, land-based casinos,
gaming strategy, and news. It is part of a network of websites including
http://Online.CasinoCity.com devoted to online gaming, and
http://www.CasinoCityTimes.com covering gaming news.
The complaint, the summons, the scheduling order, and additional
information on the case can be found on the web at
http://Online.CasinoCity.com/FirstAmendment.
Contact: Casino City, Inc.
First Amendment Hotline
800-490-1715 x 640
SOURCE Casino City, Inc.
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Related links:
http://www.casinocity.com
CONTACT:
Casino City, Inc. First Amendment Hotline,
+1-800-490-1715 ext. 640
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