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IMEGA.org founder, Joe Brennan, Jr., adamantly denied on Friday that other Costa Rican sports books have not helped to fund their efforts to challenge the Unlawful Internet Gaming Enforcement Act in the US Courts.
"I dropped the F-Bomb in front of my 4 year old kid Thursday morning when I read this on my favorite website Gambling911.com," Brennan Jr. said. "Then the calls started coming in."
Calls from angry sports book operators who wanted to know why they were being discounted.
Another operator had said that they were the only one's supporting iMEGA's efforts but his intentions may have been to simply drum up support and get the rest of the sports book community on board.
Brennan, Jr. expressed gratitude for all the financial support iMEGA (see website here) has received from its valued members.
And while the sports books have been great, Brennan, Jr. inserted that the support elsewhere has been overwhelming as well.
"iMEGA certainly has broader support than simply a "lone sports book", spanning beyond the i-gaming industry. I should know: I have the phone bills and frequent flyer miles, accrued during close to two years of campaigning for support of our legal fund, to prove it.
"This is an interesting urban legend that keeps popping up from time to time - that iMEGA is the hand-puppet of some single operator out there (most think it's Calvin, but no...though I wouldn't mind going clubbing with him for a day). Usually, this "lone benefactor theory" is touted by someone on the anti-gaming side, as a means of vilifying us.
"I will say this: because all of our patrons have dug deep into their own pockets, I'm sure that it at least feels to each of them at times like they're the only one pulling their weight. Heck, some days I feel the same way.
"And let's get over the fact that we don't publish our members' names. How many people want there name out there for the world - and the US Dept. of Justice - to see, just because they're willing to support a group that is challenging the US government in court? Not many (though, apparently, I am one...to my wife's chagrin).
"Any member or patron of iMEGA is free to tell you, if they wish, that they are a supporter. But as a 501(c)6 trade association, we're going to maintain the confidentiality of our members, as we are legally entitled under the laws of the United States. Just like thousands of other associations in the US."
Brennan, Jr. also wanted to correct a statement suggesting that the Remote Gaming Association out of Europe may have been partnering up with iMEGA.
"While I'll acknowledge, after I wrote my (perhaps overly-long) open letter to Mr. Clive Hawkswood of the Remote Gambling Association in the wake of comments attributed to both of us on Gambling911, that I received a note from Mr. Hawkswood, it was simply to address some of the issues I raised. Actually, his graciousness left me a little embarrassed, because I really gave him both barrels in that letter (though I stand by everything I said).
"However, despite Mr. Costigan's stating that iMEGA will be ‘bringing on a powerful new partner' in the RGA, it is simply not true, and I don't know where he got that from. I wish it were true, believe me. Sponsoring a cracker-jack team of Constitutional lawyers for a challenge to UIGEA in the 3rd Circuit Court of Appeals is no cheap undertaking. Especially since the other side (the US Dept. of Justice, Federal Trade Commission and the Federal Reserve) doesn't have to pass the hat like we do to make sure there are sufficient funds (I guess they just print their own).
"So, while I'll continue to read Gambling911 everyday for my share of industry news, gossip and Jenny Woo, I find myself wishing that we were not part of their creative writing exercises on slow news days."
Brennan Jr. later acknowledged it had not been a "slow news" day on Gambling911 and later apologized for his gaffe.
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Payton O'Brien, Gambling911.com Senior Editor
