Following in the footsteps of amongst others the Australian government and the Argentine judge in Buenos Aires, the AGED is trying to "protect" the locals and is basing their request ludicrously on the 1961 Wire Act.

And if citing the Wire Act wasn't bad enough, looking at some of the sites on the list makes it all even worse. The list includes gaming operators that don't allow U.S. players, including Intercasino, William Hill Casino and Party Casino, which really does not make any sense.

Add to the fact that popular gaming sites that do accept U.S. players like Poker Stars, Absolute Poker, Ulimate Bet and Rushmore Casino are absent from the list, questions are starting to get asked.

"We question how much thought was put into the selection of these sites," said Joe Brennan Jr., iMEGA chairman, in a statement. "To propose censoring Minnesota residents' Web access and not to know which sites are even in the U.S. market makes me wonder just how seriously the DPS is taking this action. It comes off as a half-baked attempt at intimidation rather than thoughtful enforcement."

AGED's director John Willems said that the list is a "random sampling (of sites)". He also said that he doesn't want to prevent or criminalize online gambling, just in the state of Minnesota where it's illegal. "We're using this process to control what's available of an illegal activity. It's about the availability or potential for unlawful activity."

If these measures go through, industry experts are expecting possible protests and maybe even legal action and we can definitely see why. The websites on the list are based on a random sampling which raises questions and the decision itself is not at all strongly rooted in that Wire Act.

We can only hope that the government of Minnesota wakes up and does not go through with this absurd plan.