New York Appeals Court Affirms Earlier Ruling

The U.S. 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals ruled Bay Casino, which operates a gaming vessel on "cruises to nowhere" from Brooklyn, did not violate federal law by operating its shipboard casino more than three, but less than 12 miles offshore, concurring with a lower court's decision. The court affirmed the lower court's dismissal of the civil forfeiture action against the company. The government argued when Congress passed the Antiterrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act of 1996, in which it extended the U.S. territorial seas out to 12 miles "for purposes of Federal criminal jurisdiction," shipboard gambling was rendered illegal within the 12-mile limit.