ONLY 1 US HOSTING COMPANY - shutting down gambling sites. (Deceber 2011)

[felku]

That is bad news i have a VPS with hostgator and until now I haven't receive any email. I'm really confuse right now and really don't know what should I do, if wait for any email or contacting them.

[FictionNet]

I just spoke to one of my hosts - they mainly do European hosting. For what it's worth, they've not received anything telling them to look at gambling sites.

[Anthony]

Thank you for sharing Steve, I would like to get more information about the hosting company.

[MichaelCorfman]

Certainly this is alarming. However, from the legal free speech perspective, there is little basis for the DOJ to be able to force an ISP to refuse to allow a website to be hosted using their services. Certainly some web hosting firms might make a decision to not allow hosting of certain types of sites, and it is within their legal right to make such a decision. However, it would not make sense for all US web hosting companies to make such a decision because at least some web hosting companies will be run by individuals that would not want to cave to such requests that are not based on established legal precedent.

For example, in the case of Casino City, our main corporate identity is as Information Technology Systems, Inc. (website www.infotechsys.com), and we have a division that specifically provides web hosting services for ourselves and other companies as well under the brand name www.accessway.net. If we were to receive any sort of request from the DOJ to cease hosting our websites, we would contest such a request, and I do not believe the DOJ would be able to prevail against us in a court of law. Nor do I believe the DOJ would want to engage in a legal battle with our firm since we would not fit the profile of being a good test case from their perspective.

What I do believe is that every webmaster should have their business organized so that they can move their hosting without too much trouble should that become desirable for whatever reason (poor service, bad connectivity, or notice of termination of service). However, aside from being prepared for such a migration I would not personally suggest making a move proactively unless you know that other webmasters are having issues with the specific hosting provider you are using.

Michael

[shortow]

Strikes me as a really strange move from the DOJ. Surely they're aware that gambling site hosted outside the US are just as accessible to US residents as ones locally hosted?
The big losers here are going to be the US hosting companies, UK hosts will be licking their chops and gambling affiliate sites will just keep on keeping on, albeit with different homes.

I have a few sites hosted at GoDaddy and have heard nothing from them yet.

[rknuppel]

I'm just holding tight until I get the notice. Hostgator and Hostmonter host most of my gambling related sites.

[bonusbetting]

Hmmm, sorry to hear about this.

I'm considering getting a decent reseller account here in the UK and offering discounted hosting to people who need to move.
However, UK hosting prices are generally higher than the US.

If anyone is interested please let me know what your requirements are.
If a few people are ready to go then I can get it set up pretty quickly.
I could also help with server moves, I've done this for plenty of people, including large/complex sites.

I won't be looking for a big profit, I'm thinking I might get some nice link deals out of it

[MichaelCorfman]

Personally, I don't think there is a good reason for anyone to move their hosting based on the information in this thread. If your hosting is easy to move, then you could do that in the future in the unlikely (in my opinion) situation that it becomes necessary to do so. And if your hosting is hard to do, then it would not make sense to me to move it without a current issue that justifies the effort.

What this thread emphasizes to me is the importance of working with an ISP that is friendly to the business we are in. It is not a good decision for an affiliate to use hosting services from a company that states that having content that "is related to gambling" is a violation of their acceptable use policy.

Also, for those reading this thread, I'd like to point out that I started a poll on the topic as the question of the week. Just visit the thread Do you have gambling affiliate sites hosted in the United States and are you worried? So far the most common response is "Yes, I have sites hosted in the United States but am not worried." A perfectly sensible response in my opinion.

Michael

[villa10]

Weird. Since about 2 months Google Adsense is distributing online gambling advertising in their network. These ads are directed toward countries where gambling is regulated, but still they charge for the service in America. Because they have their servers in the U.S., they should also be affected by this rule. I tend to think in internal policies of each hosting company.

[bonuscenter]

I was moved my websites to an UK based server ( www.rtt2.com ) about five months ago.

My old hosting provider since 2005 (like almost all American hosting companies) reserves the right to decide whether an activity is illegal and therefore can suspend your account.

So I think it's a good idea to move...

[GFPC]

Hey guys I am sorry If I alarmed anyone. I was essentially reiterating what i was told from a high official within my hosting company and I guess my post sounded as if they are all doing it and I have been told I made an irresponsible post. I apologize for that - I just felt it was something I wanted to share with the community as it has really hurt us and I would never want this to happen to anyone else.

I will refrain from further posting and take a long needed break. My apologies once again if anyone perceived my posts as irresponsible - I was really only trying to help.

Best regards and Merry Christmas to all - if anyone needs to reach me please do so via email in case I do not get back here again for a long period of time. (The last time it was 9-10 months) .

Take care and best wishes to all at GPWA - Have a prosperous new year!!

[DaftDog]

I must say I was alarmed by this thread as I have my sites hosted on a US based server. I used to have all my gaming sites hosted on a decent shared server in South Africa. About a year ago I received an email from them stating that they no longer allowed gambling related content due to the online gambling laws and that I had 48 hours to move my sites before they would be shut down. This email from them was received after business hours on a Friday. I wrote a snotty email back to them stating that I had been a client of theirs for several years and that such short notice was a total insult to me.

But most importantly it was only this hosting company that had decided to do this, no other hosting companies in South Africa have followed the same route.

So I agree with what Michael has written in the above posts. Be prepared but don't abandon ship just yet.

[baldidiot]

I will refrain from further posting and take a long needed break. My apologies once again if anyone perceived my posts as irresponsible - I was really only trying to help.

Don't be daft, Steve!

The info is appreciated - it probably just made a few folks panic. But if one company is taking this stance others may follow - it's probably in everyones best interests to have an exit strategy in place in case their host does the same.

[bonuscenter]

Don't be daft, Steve!

The info is appreciated - it probably just made a few folks panic. But if one company is taking this stance others may follow - it's probably in everyones best interests to have an exit strategy in place in case their host does the same.

I'm absolutely Agree!

[Squigley]

Don't be daft, Steve!

The info is appreciated - it probably just made a few folks panic. But if one company is taking this stance others may follow - it's probably in everyones best interests to have an exit strategy in place in case their host does the same.

Completely agree. Better to be prepared.

[Dominique]

A search for those T&Cs shows that many or most US hosts have the identical clause. Probably been there for ages and not enforced.

[casinobonusguy]

Just fyi Mediatemple does not (as of December 13) list gambling in their terms and conditions if people are looking for alternative.

[michael1981]

This thread started off very scary when I first saw it, but i'm glad its not as bad as I thought Phew. I wouldn't past the DOJ to try something sneaky like that, its always better to be prepared. A bit like the saying, "hope for the best but prepare for the worst" (that's the essence of the online gambling situation at the moment lol). On another note, i'm so glad my sites are basic and HTML. Would make it very easy to move them if I had to

[jondow]

Hi all,

If anyone is having trouble with migrations, in the offers section of webhostingtalk many of the hosting providers will offer free migrations to new customers who take out basic/reseller hosting plans. I use dediserve (Ireland based) for my VPS and they also do free migrations for new customers and I've found them very good. Hope thats of some help.

Rick

[alin04]

I know is september 2013 and is a old thread but today I made an hostgator account. It is safe now to host my site on hostgator or I have to move my site on UK hosting sites?