“Esquire magazine's confrontation with the US Justice Department”

The United States has no intention on relaxing its illegality stand against gambling on the Internet despite the World Trade Organization’s latest resolution. Actually, any firm or organization that trades with any gambling company is likely to be reprimanded severely by the United States ongoing penalizing policy. This policy is testified to by the case of the Esquire magazine’s sub-penalization by the United States Department of Justice for the Esquire’s April edition’s information on an online gambling site advertisement. This case refers to the online poker site, Bodog.com which consisted of an eight page insert.

The 1960 Wire Act outlawing the use of phone lines for placing bets is the basis for the United States anti-Internet gambling policy. Gambling on the Internet is defined as unlawful in the United States, according to the Justice Department, which states that this policy is in accordance with the Wire Act, and therefore anybody having business associations with an online gambling company can be penalized. People and bodies included in this category and having gambling business with online gambling site operators are payment transaction companies, banks and advertising companies.

As the Department of Justice subpoena is not a demand for editorial information and solely an informational one, Esquire magazine intends to obey its requirements. According to the constitution, any editorial information is protected by law.

International and domestic confrontations have been raised over the United States policy on Internet gambling. One example is that of CasinoCity.com’s operator, Casino City Inc.. who contends that the endeavors of the Justice Department to stymie online gambling sites from being permitted to advertise their services on the radio are in contradiction to commercial rights of free speech. And lately, the legislature of North Dakota pushed forward an attempt to make various type of gambling on the Internet legal. The World Trade Organization’s claim cannot be refuted with the ease that both these internal American objections were refuted. According to the ruling of the World Trade Organization, the United States ban on gambling via the Internet differentiates againts offshore gambling operators who desire to trade with client in the United States. Although the ruling actually consists of clauses enabling the United States to pursue carrying out its current approach toward online gambling, nevertheless it can still propose an opposition to the policy, as the World Trade Organization intends to bring out a clarification declaration expounding its ruling exact position and extent. The confrontation between Esquire magazine and the Justice Department of the United States is being, in the meanwhile, followed carefully by many advertisers to see how the events evolve.