Lawsuit against search gambling ads given go ahead
8 June 2005
A case against major search engines and gambling adverts has been given permission to proceed.
The case, filed in August last year in California Superior Court in San Francisco, claims that a number of search engines, including Google, FindWhat and Yahoo!, are responsible for financial losses suffered by web users following a search ad for gambling.
The defending search engines lost their motion to strike core allegations in plaintiffs' complaints, according to Rothken Law Firm.
The prosecuting firm alleges that the search engines illegally advertised internet gambling, in violation of California Penal Code provisions and the Unlawful Business Practices Act.
"The search engines, such as Yahoo! and Google, attempted to convince the court that they could advertise internet gambling with immunity - the court rejected that notion and allowed the case to proceed," said Reed Kathrein, an attorney for the plaintiffs.
Stan Mallison, another attorney for the plaintiffs, added: " The Court's ruling now clears the way for plaintiffs to investigate defendants' net gambling activities in the discovery process and learn the magnitude of their alleged wrongdoing."
The case of Cisneros et al vs Yahoo! et al will be keenly watched by the search industry. Yahoo! and Google stopped displaying online casino ads in April of 2004, but many other sites still carry the adverts.
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