United States state governments have been trying to impose the blockage of Internet casinos by ordering Internet domain names to be blocked. These actions have frustrated the leaders of the European Union who feel that the US simply disregards the borderless aspect of the Internet.

EU leaders feel that it is time to remove control of ICANN (Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers) from US control as they feel the US has gone too far by ignoring jurisdictional restrictions and applying measures that are protectionist in nature.

The ICANN is currently operating under the jurisdiction of the US Department of Commerce. The Californian court system holds the jurisdiction over ICANN’s judicial review. ICANN supplies Internet domain names and IP addresses, with their current contract expiring on September 30th this year.

There has been much dissatisfaction regarding the way the US has been dealing with online casino sites recently, both from within the US, from Europe and other places around the world.

The EU Information Society Commissioner, Viviane Reding, said “In the long run, it is not defendable that the government department of only one country has oversight of an Internet function which is used by hundreds of millions of people in countries all over the world.” Reding also said that there needs to be more accountability and more transparency as far as ICANN is concerned, and she requested that a review be done by an international tribunal.

Perhaps US states will not be so quick to arrogantly try and block online casino sites if they do not have the exclusive control over ICANN.