On April 29, the Minnesota Department of Public Safety, Alcohol and Gambling Enforcement Division instructed some 11 telephone providers and ISPs to block Minnesota-based computers from accessing about 200 online gambling websites.

Companies served notice by the Minnesota government included AT&T, Charter Communications, Comcast Cable, Direct TV, Dish Network, Embarq, Frontier Communications, Qwest, Sprint/Nextel, Verizon Wireless and Wildblue Communications. Surely inspired by the state of Kentucky’s recent legal action in the online gambling arena, Minnesota officials cited the approximately 200 companies to be in violation of the Wire Act of 1961; any of the 11 which fails to comply risks a report to the Federal Communications Commission.

Said act contains the following controversial verbiage:Whoever being engaged in the business of betting or wagering knowingly uses a wire communication facility for the transmission in interstate or foreign commerce of bets or wagers or information assisting in the placing of bets or wagers on any sporting event or contest, or for the transmission of a wire communication which entitles the recipient to receive money or credit as a result of bets or wagers, or for information assisting in the placing of bets or wagers, shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than two years, or both.

Poker Players Alliance’s Minnesota state director Matt Werden released a vitriolic statement on the matter, saying in part that “This isn't simply a heavy-handed tactic by the government; this is a clear misrepresentation of federal law, as well as Minnesota law, used in an unprecedented way to try and censor the Internet.”

Unironically, Werden proclaimed the PPA would be “calling their bluff” and stating that online poker playing “cannot be forcibly blocked by a state authority looking to score some political points.”

The big guns were soon broken out by Werden: "We see headlines like this coming from communist China but never expect that it could happen here in Minnesota. […] this is more than just protecting poker: This is about keeping the internet free of censorship and ensuring that law abiding citizens can enjoy a game of Texas Hold 'Em in the comfort of their own home, whether it's online or with a group of friends.”

Though several Microgaming- and Playtech-powered casinos are on the would-be Minnesota blacklist, these software companies have already promised to bar US-based players from their casinos.