Interactive Media Entertainment & Gaming Association, Inc. v. Gonzales

The Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act of 2006 (UIGEA) prohibited gambling businesses from knowingly accepting funds in connection with another person’s participation in unlawful internet gambling. The UIGEA defined unlawful internet gambling to include the knowing transmission of a bet or wager over the internet if the bet or wager was illegal where it was initiated or received. The UIGEA provided for both criminal penalties and civil enforcement. Interactive Media Entertainment & Gaming Association, Inc. (Interactive) (plaintiff) was an internet-gaming advocacy group. Interactive’s members ran internet-gambling businesses that were lawful in the jurisdictions where they were physically located, but accepted payments for others’ gambling activities without verifying whether the bets were legal where they originated. Interactive brought an action on behalf of itself and its members against United States Attorney General Alberto Gonzales and various federal agencies (collectively, the government) (defendants), asserting that the UIGEA was unconstitutional and seeking declaratory and injunctive relief. Interactive claimed that the UIGEA violated the First Amendment, the Tenth Amendment, the Ex Post Facto Clause, the right to privacy, United States’ treaty obligations, and a World Trade Organization (WTO) ruling. The government moved to dismiss.