No bluffing: State trying to pull plug on online gambling

State officials today told 11 national and regional telephone and Internet service providers to block access by all Minnesota-based computers to nearly 200 online gambling websites.
The state is cracking down on online gambling, which the state says is illegal in Minnesota.

A division of the state Department of Public Safety that enforces gambling and alcohol laws said today that it has instructed 11 national and regional telephone and Internet service providers (ISPs) to block access by all Minnesota-based computers to nearly 200 online gambling websites.

“We are putting site operators and Minnesota online gamblers on notice and in advance,” says John Willems, director of the state’s Alcohol and Gambling Enforcement Division. “State residents with online escrow accounts should be aware that access to their accounts may be jeopardized and their funds in peril.”

Willems said the state is acting even though he has no idea how much Internet wagering is going on in Minnesota.

“It’s hard to know that,” he said, because of its illegal nature. “I can’t tell you if it’s one [Minnesotan gambling online] or 500,000. My only concern is that it’s unlawful.”

He did say he has anecdotal evidence that Internet gambling “is fairly large” in Minnesota, noting that Canterbury Park in Shakopee has said that its casino-style games have been hurt. “Also, I’ve had people call me and say they’ve lost $20,000; can I help them? I can’t.”

Written notices from Willems’ division were served Monday to:

AT&T Internet Services, San Antonio; Charter Communications, St. Louis; Comcast Cable, Moorestown, N.J.; Direct TV, Los Angeles; Dish Network, Englewood., Colo.; Embarq and Sprint/Nextel, both of Overland Park, Kan.; Frontier Communications, Stamford, Conn.; Qwest, Denver; Verizon Wireless, Bedminster, N.J.; and Wildblue Communications, Greenwood Village, Colo.

In mounting its challenge, Minnesota is citing a 1961 federal law that gives states the authority to control illegal gambling.

Minnesota now joins at least one other state that has taken on Internet gambling, according to a national trade group that favors legalization of online betting in the United States.