April 20, 2009 (CAP Newswire) — In a sobering bit of news, online press release distributor PRWeb has reportedly announced that, effective immediately, it will exclude all companies affiliated with online gambling from its services.
The news is certainly a setback for the iGaming industry given PRWeb's stature as among the world’s leading online press release distribution solutions for small businesses. (A similar service offered by Business Wire, for example, comes at a much higher fee, well out of the range of most small-sized companies.) Among PRWeb’s advantages is its brand presence, which allowed stories sent via its site to gain widespread traction via Google, Yahoo, and other leading search engines.
The company had little choice in the decision, it seems. The U.S. state of Washington, a traditionally liberal state that is inexplicably one of the regions most vehemently opposed to online gambing in North America, had issued a court-mandated Cease and Desist order requiring PRWeb to exclude iGaming business from its activities. In a media statement made over the weekend, PRWeb representative Cari Lyle states that the company was reluctant to follow the order but ultimately had no choice. “As PRWeb is located in Washington State, we are required to be in compliance with Washington State laws,” RecentPoker.com quoted Lyle.
However, the company is reportedly extending the ban to the United Kingdom, as well, thus calling into question the reasons for prohibiting business partnerships with companies in a jurisdiction where such activities are not deemed to be illegal.
PRWeb joins Send2Press on the list of prominent press release distributors who refuse service to the online gaming industry. It’s disconcerting that viable, well-respected businesses such as these bow so easily to the requests of the fervent anti-gambling movement in America. However, the stage is now set for a competitor to surface who isn’t afraid to offer iGaming companies the full range of business and PR options that a free capitalist society demands.