There were two news stories last week concerning the ban on Internet gambling which I found interesting. In New Jersey, U.S. District Judge Mary Cooper dismissed a challenge to the ban on Internet gambling brought by the Interactive Entertainment and Gaming Association. She did however give the group legal standing to bring it to an appellate court. The group had argued that the law to stop electronic processing of money for online wagering was unconstitutional and infringed on the rights of player's freedom of speech and was an invasion of their privacy.

The group's chairman, Joe Brennan Jr. said, "You're looking at a law criminalizing an activity online that is legal off-line in 48 of the 50 states. If I have that right off-line in the real world, I should have that right online.

In her decision Judge Cooper wrote that the law was legally enacted and does not violate the Constitution but she did rule that the association has legal standing to challenge the law in a federal appeals court. Brennan said an appeal would be filed within the next two months.

In the other story Congressman Jim McDermott, a Democratic representative from the State of Washington, introduced a new piece of legislation entitled the Internet Gambling Regulation and Tax Enforcement Act of 2008. This bill calls for a two percent licensing fee to be paid by online gaming operators.

McDermott cited a recent tax revenue analysis compiled by PricewaterhouseCoopers which estimated that the United States government could take in anywhere from $8.7 billion to $42.8 billion over the next ten years from online gambling. McDermott's legislation functions as a companion bill to the Internet Gambling Regulation and Enforcement Act (H.R. 2046), which was introduced last year by Representative Barney Frank that would also serve to regulate Internet gambling in the United States.