Search engines accused of promoting gambling

Thursday, Aug. 5, 2004 | 10:01 a.m.

BLOOMBERG NEWS

SAN FRANCISCO -- Google Inc., which runs the world's most-used Internet search engine, denied accusations in a lawsuit that it sells advertisements to companies that promote online gambling.

Google, Yahoo Inc., and other Internet search companies were sued by the law firm Lerach, Coughlin, Stoia & Robbins in a suit that seeks to stop the companies from accepting advertisements for illegal Internet gaming and have them forfeit revenue from the ads.

Google spokesman Steve Langdon said Google doesn't permit advertising for online gambling, citing company guidelines, which state that it doesn't "permit ads for online casinos, sports books, bingo and affiliates with the primary purpose of driving traffic to online gambling sites."

The suit, filed under California's unfair business practices laws, says Internet gambling harms regulated gambling business on Indian reservations and causes losses to consumers. The complaint requests that the search engine companies put revenue from advertising Internet gambling into a fund that would provide restitution to Indian casinos and give money to spouses of gamblers who have had property confiscated to pay gambling debts.

The suit, which was reported earlier by The Recorder newspaper, was filed in state court in San Francisco.

Ruben Osorio, a spokesman for Yahoo, didn't return a message seeking comment.