Web Hosting and Online Gambling Links
I doubt that I will ever understand the laws with online gambling, but I do not see how having an educational website that does not take any kind of wagers itself but may link directly to sites that do, such as FullTilt.com or PokerStars.com could be considered illegal or against any Acceptable Use Policy (AUP) for a United States hosting company.
I mean I’m not mad about the situation at all, just a little surprised. I started looking around for a new host after my current hosting provider told me they couldn’t provide me with any unique C Class IP address for SEO reasons. I started asking around and got the following email from Rackspace.
Hello Michael,
This is Amie Naber from Rackspace Hosting. We had a chat last night on the website regarding a potential hosting project. I just wanted to let you know that I have received a reply from our AUP department. They said that if there is any direct links that point from your site to gambling link then we will be unable to host your site. So your site would not be able to send any customers directly to any gambling sites. If this is something that your site complies with, we can certainly host your site for you. Please do not hesitate to email or call me if you have any questions at all.
Thank You,
Amie Naber
This makes me a little nervous about my current hosting provider, what if they realize I have direct links to gambling sites and this violates their AUP as well. Can they just shut me down ? That would not be good. I better do some research and if necessary seek hosting outside of the US.