In another move that pisses off free market economists like me, the Department of Justice forced Google, Yahoo, and Microsoft to pay about $31 million dollars in a settlement that goes back to a 2004 ruling, in which the Department of Justice decided that the 3 big search engines should not run any advertising for online casinos. The engines halted those practices in 2004, and now the DOJ wants a settlement? Come on. But hey, at least the government will spend that money wisely:
- $4.5 million from Microsoft to the government
- $7.5 million from Microsoft to the International Center for Missing and Exploited Children
- $9.0 million from Microsoft to a public service ad campaign, telling college-aged kids that online gambling is illegal
- Google and Yahoo fork over $6 million to the government
- Yahoo agrees to run $4.5 million worth of ads for public service announcements
Way to go, Uncle Sam. Just like the drug war, I'm sure that $31 million will stop online poker.
