list of contributors - GALA

3. Topic: A Different Standard: Reaching out to Children
What: FTC: Marketing of Violent Entertainment to Children.
When: July 2004
What Happened: In general, children have greater difficulty evaluating advertising claims and
understanding the nature of the information provided to them. Advertisers
and the entertainment industry should be extra cautious when reaching out
to the young audience.
In July, the FTC issued a report on the Marketing of Violent Entertainment to
Children. The report concluded that the motion picture, music recording,
and electronic game industries continue to advertise violent and explicit
movies, games and music in media widely watched by teens and that teens
can purchase R-rated products at many locations.
Further, the report recommended that these industries improve efforts to
avoid advertising restricted or labeled products in venues popular with
under-17 audiences and that rating information disclosures be improved.
Comments: The FTC report shows that, if the entertainment industry does not curb the
marketing of violent entertainment to children, government regulation may
not be far behind.
4. Topic: Online Casino Gambling
Who: Department of Justice (“DOJ”), US advertising forums, & Offshore Online
casinos
What Happened: Online casinos and poker rooms continue to escalate in growth. An
important factor in this growth has been the advertising of online gambling
sites in U.S. media such as television, radio, print publications, and other
online sources, including search engines, e-zines and affiliates.
Online casinos are illegal in the U.S. Further, there has been much recent
controversy over the permissibility of advertisements for legal offshore
online casinos on U.S. web sites.
This controversy started in 2003 when the Department of Justice (DOJ) sent
letters, and later subpoenas, to a number of media organizations, requesting
that they instruct their members that accepting Internet gambling
advertisements might subject them to prosecution.
In the summer of 2004, Casino City, a company which hosts web sites with
links to online casinos, filed a complaint against the DOJ seeking a
declaratory judgment ruling that advertisements for online casinos are
protected by the First Amendment. On February 15, 2005, the suit was
dismissed with prejudice. Not content with dismissing the suit based on the
several procedural grounds argued by the DOJ, the judge made what many
will consider to be a substantive ruling that the advertisements in question
are not protected by the First Amendment guarantee of the right to
commercial free speech.
Notes: Casino City Ruling available here: http://www.gambling-lawus.com/Articles-Notes/Ruling.pdf