In spite of the WTO’s recent ruling, the U.S. is not easing up on its prohibition against online gambling. In fact, the U.S. is continuing to pursue a policy that penalizes any company or organization that does business with online gambling companies. As evidence of this policy, the U.S. Justice Department subpoenaed Esquire magazine for information on an online gambling site advertisement included in Esquire’s April issue. The advertisement was an eight-page insert and was about online poker site, Bodog.com.

U.S. policy on online gambling is based on the 1960’s Wire Act, which prohibited the use of phone lines for placing wagers. The Justice Department contends that, according to the Wire Act, Internet gambling is illegal in the United States and, therefore, the U.S. must go after anyone doing business with an Internet gambling company. This includes advertisers, banks, and payment transfer companies as well as the operators of the online gambling sites.

Esquire plans to comply with the Justice Department subpoena since it is just an informational subpoena and is not a request for any editorial information. Editorial information is constitutionally protected.

There have been challenges to U.S. Internet gambling policy, both domestically and internationally. Recently, the North Dakota legislature spearheaded an effort to legalize some forms of Internet gambling and Casino City Inc., operator of CasinoCity.com, argues that the Justice Department’s efforts to prevent Internet gambling web sites from advertising their services on the radio are a violation of commercial free-speech rights. While both challenges ultimately were dismissed, the international challenge presented by the WTO to U.S. policy on online gambling is not so easily dismissed. The WTO’s ruling stated that U.S. prohibitions on Internet gambling discriminate against offshore gambling operators that want to do business with U.S. customers. This ruling, which, in effect, included some loop holes that permit the U.S. to continue exercising its present policy on Internet gambling, can still present a challenge to the policy, however, especially since the WTO is planning to issue a statement that will clarify its position regarding the scope of its ruling. In the mean time, other advertisers are certain to be watching how things play out between the U.S. Justice Department and Esquire magazine.