Minnesota Lawmaker’s Bill Would Stop State Action on Online Gambling

A Minnesota state representative introduced legislation on Monday that would end the state’s attempt to stop its citizens from gambling online.

The bill from State Representative Pat Garofalo (R-Farmington) would stop the Minnesota Department of Public Safety from forcing Internet service providers to block access to Internet gaming sites, according to a release from his office.

“The Department of Public Safety has to have better things to do with their time than to go after a college kid in his dorm room or some guy sitting in his basement spending a couple of hours playing online poker,” said Garofalo. “Demanding that a private-sector Internet service provider block access to websites is not a proper function of our state government.”

Last week, the Alcohol and Gambling Enforcement Division told nearly a dozen ISPs in Minnesota to block people from visiting about 200 gambling Web sites. The department taking action contends that online gambling is illegal in Minnesota, while others believe the issue is not that cut and dry. There’s been no indication that the ISPs have complied or are planning on complying with the request, so far.

Garofalo, in his statements, was less a champion of a freedom to gamble, and more of a proponent of the basic freedom of Minnesota’s citizens to visit the Web sites they choose to visit:

“I’m certainly not condoning online gambling,” said Garofalo. “But I have serious concerns about government banning access to web sites. This is the kind of thing they do in communist China, not the United States of America. Besides, how about we focus on balancing the state’s $6.4 billion budget deficit and not harassing Minnesotans anymore than Democrat legislative leaders are already trying to do.”

More updates as they happen.