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Much like the Jay Cohen trial in 2000, three US 3rd Circuit Court of Appeals judges were most interested on Tuesday in where a bet is placed when it comes to online gambling.
The judges heard oral arguments from lawyers representing the Interactive Media Entertainment & Gaming Association and the US Department of Justice. iMEGA is challenging the Constitutionality of the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA), which essentially outlaws most forms of online gambling in the U.S.
Judge Dolores Korman Sloviter, a Carter appointee; Judge Thomas L. Ambro, a Clinton appointee; and Judge Kent A. Jordan, a George W. Bush appointee focused mostly on where the bet takes place during Tuesday's hearing.
"iMEGA was represented by Eric M. Bernstein, who first argued to have UIGEA overturned in US District Court, and Stephen A. Saltzburg, professor at the George Washington University school of law and former deputy attorney-general of the United States.
The defendants - the US Department of Justice, the Federal Trade Commission and the Federal Reserve - were represented by Nicholas J. Bagley and Jacqueline E. Coleman of the US DoJ's civil division in Washington, DC.
"They asked tough concise questions of both iMEGA and the U.S. Government," iMEGA founder, Joe Brennan, Jr. told Gambling911.com following the hearing.
"Standing" arguments raised by the U.S. Government aimed at iMEGA and its members were promptly dismissed by the judges.
A decision could be rendered in approximately 30 days and upwards of three months.
Christopher Costigan, Gambling911.com Publisher
