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Search engines should disgorge profits made from advertising of illegal gambling.
Investigation Source
- California
Investigation Scope
Category Information
Investigation Topic
- Online Gambling
Products or Services
- Search Engines
- Online Advertising
Injury Type
- Monetary Loss
Investigation Details
Investigation and pending class action lawsuit against Yahoo, Google, Overture Services, Ask Jeeves, Looksmart, AltaVista, Terra Lycos, Jupiter Media, CNET Networks, Findwhat and Kanoodle alleging that each of these search engines were unlawfully advertising Internet casinos, directly harming California citizens.
Online gambling has become a growing problem throughout the U.S. and has recently become a hot issue within the State of California. The issue of this case revolves largely around off-shore gambling sites that have paid U.S.-based search engine companies, such as Google and Yahoo, hundreds of millions of dollars to advertise, an activity we believe is illegal in California.
The class action complaint allege that the numerous online search engines have violated California law by taking payment in exchange for advertising illegal gambling Web sites. The plaintiffs seek to enjoin any further advertising and to have the defendants disgorge their profits from such advertising to charities to be used to remedy the harm created by such gambling, the resulting addictions, and the costs to society.
Online gambling has become a growing problem throughout the U.S. and has recently become a hot issue within the State of California. The issue of this case revolves largely around off-shore gambling sites that have paid U.S.-based search engine companies, such as Google and Yahoo, hundreds of millions of dollars to advertise, an activity we believe is illegal in California.
The class action complaint allege that the numerous online search engines have violated California law by taking payment in exchange for advertising illegal gambling Web sites. The plaintiffs seek to enjoin any further advertising and to have the defendants disgorge their profits from such advertising to charities to be used to remedy the harm created by such gambling, the resulting addictions, and the costs to society.
Defendant Details
| Name (Stock Symbol) | Brief Description |
|---|---|
| Google Inc. (GOOG) | Google Inc. is a web search engine. |
| Yahoo Inc. (YHOO) | Yahoo Inc. provides Internet services to users, advertisers, publishers, and developers worldwide. |
| Overture Services | Overture Services, which was acquired by Yahoo, operated the Alta Vista search engine. |
| Ask Jeeves | Ask Jeeves changed its name to Ask.com in 2005. It is a web search engine. It is wholly owned by IAC (Nasdaq: IACI). |
| Looksmart, Ltd (LOOK) | LookSmart, Ltd. operates as a search advertising network and management company. It provides search advertising products and services to text advertisers and advertising agencies. |
| AltaVista | AltaVista, a business of Overture Services, Inc. is an internet search engine. |
| Lycos | Lycos is a subsidiary of Daum Communications, a Korean company. Lycos is a search engine turned entertainment portal. |
| Jupiter Media Corporation (WEBM) | WebMediaBrands Inc., formerly Jupitermedia Corporation, is a global provider of images, original information, job boards and events for information technology (IT), business and creative professionals. |
| CNET Networks | CBS Interactive Inc., a CBS Corporation Company, owns CNET Networks. CNET is an online publication that reviews technology products. |
| Findwhat Group | Findwhat Group merged with MIVA, Inc. It is a search engine. |
| Kanoodle | Kanoodle,a subsidiary of Seevast, aggregates search results from many search engines. |