U.S. Authorities Seize Advertising Funds for Overseas Online Casinos

Tropical Paradise, a Costa Rica-based Internet casino operation, has filed an action in U.S. District Court against Discovery Communications to demand the return of $3.25 million, of which $3.2 million was seized by U.S. marshals in early April. The dispute ratchets up the controversy about the methods by which U.S. law enforcement is cracking down on U.S. activities of foreign-based online Internet operations. In October 2003, Tropical Paradise paid Discovery for television spots to advertise an online poker room ParadisePoker.com. Court documents state the U.S. Government seized the money and told Discovery, based in Silver Spring, Md., that it could be party to an illegal activity by broadcasting such advertisements.