Shutterstock/Lightspring Attorneys for a Virginia businessman are arguing that the state’s skill game ban violates the First Amendment. He has taken the commonwealth to court in order to be able to turn his machines on again. Counsel succeeded at stopping the ban for the six months from now until May, when he’ll be able to plead his case in full.
Skill machines occupy a legal gray area. Unregulated gambling is illegal, but definitions of gambling tend to involve the phrase “games of chance.” Skill game companies seek to skirt that definition by adding skill elements to their products. This is true even for online skill games, like Skillz . Because of that nebulous status, skill games providers end up in court regularly.
The trial begins May 18. Depending on its outcome, other states seeking to ban similar products may face the same free speech argument.
US online casino games are legal, regulated and generating tax revenue for several states. As for Virginia’s legal online wagering marketplace, its online sportsbooks launched in January. What does free speech have to do with skill machines?
It’s surprising to see a free speech argument invoked in such a case. However, US courts have tended to take a very broad view of what “speech” means.
Lawyer Autumn D. Johnson with the Stanley Law Group is working with lead attorney Sen. Bill Stanley , R-Franklin County, on the case.
Johnson told Online Poker Report : “We argued that skill games are afforded free speech protection using case precedent from the United States Supreme Court ruling that video games have free speech protection under the First Amendment. Skill games are not like the slot machines you’d see in a casino; instead, they have narratives and themes that further player expression. The law banning skill games was vague and unconstitutional. The judge agreed.” On Dec. 6, a judge in the Greensville County Circuit Court, Civil Division , did grant plaintiff Hermie Sadler a temporary injunction . However, the injunction isn’t the case’s final ruling.
If the case does go Sadler’s way in the end, the state may have to either accept […]
Click here to view original web page at www.onlinepokerreport.com
