List of online gambling sites banned by Minnesota released

Minnesota's Alcohol and Gambling Enforcement Division released Friday the list of 200 online gambling sites it wants blocked from Minnesota residents, and it contains quite a few surprises.

On the list are several sites that don't allow American players, including PartyCasino, Everest Poker, Ladbrokes Casino, Intercasino, Virgin Games and William Hill Casino.

Not on the list are several popular sites that do accept American players, including PokerStars, DoylesRoom, Rushmore Casino, UltimateBet and Absolute Poker.

Full Tilt and Bodog are among the major sites on the list that do accept players from the U.S.

AGED Director John Willems defended the Minnesota list when asked about it by Casino City.

"The list is a random sampling (of sites)," Willems said. "It's a snapshot of a window of time on the Internet."

When informed that the list contained many sites that don't accept American players, Willems responded by saying the action won't hurt those sites then.

"We're using this process to control what's available of an illegal activity," Willems added. "It's about the availability or potential for unlawful activity."

The Interactive Media and Entertainment & Gaming Association (iMEGA) disagrees with Willems' assessment.

"We question how much thought was put into the selection of these sites," said Joe Brennan Jr., iMEGA chairman, in a statement. "To propose censoring Minnesota residents' Web access and not to know which sites are even in the U.S. market makes me wonder just how seriously the DPS is taking this action. It comes off as a half-baked attempt at intimidation rather than thoughtful enforcement."