Lawyers with one of the most aggressively marketed online casinos are waiting to hear word from the Nevada Athletic Commission within the next two weeks on whether a revolutionary new way of advertising can continue to be used.
For nearly six months, GoldenPalace.com has been branding its URL directly on the bare backs of boxers. GoldenPalace.com started the form of advertising last year by applying temporary tattoos with the GoldenPalace.com URL to boxers' backs.
The ploy garnered widespread attention in late September when middleweight boxer Bernard Hopkins had a GoldenPalace.com tattoo on his back for a title bout against Felix Trinidad. Despite being the underdog, Hopkins won the fight and the undisputed title.
Millions watched that bout on television, and GoldenPalace.com reaped the rewards of massive media exposure. With the increased exposure of its campaign came the increased scrutiny of regulators and attorneys.
Last week officials with GoldenPalace.com were asked to come before the Nevada Athletic Commission to discuss the legality of putting advertising tattoos on the backs of boxers.
The issue was tabled to give the commission time to consult with the attorney general's office. Marc Ratner, executive director of the Nevada Athletic Commission, felt that serious First Amendment issues were raised and wanted the attorney general's office to study the situation.
"Any time you are dealing with the First Amendment, you have to make sure all the proper checks and balances have been conducted," he said. "The board needs to decide if it is demeaning to the sport."
On Tuesday Ratner said the issue has been forwarded to the attorney general's office, where he expects an opinion to be returned within 10 days.
In the meantime, GoldenPalace.com continued the unique marketing approach on Saturday when Hopkins returned to his home state for a bout in Reading, Penn., to defend his title.
The win was Hopkins' 15th consecutive defense of at least a piece of the middleweight title. Hopkins is GoldonPalace.com's biggest name fighter who wears the tattoo. With his win on Saturday, Hopkins is pushing light heavyweight champion Roy Jones to a title bout for that division.
A Hopkins-Jones fight would likely take place in Las Vegas and would garner the attention of the entire boxing community. Before any such fight would happen, both the commission and GoldenPalace.com want to ensure the practice of tattooing boxers won't compromise the sport.
Ratner said that boxers have a short career span and that the commission needs to consider any viable way for them to make additional money. But he doesn't want to see advertising take over the entire sport.
Boxers are already allowed to advertise companies on their trunks, he said, but a decision needs to be made as to where the line is drawn.
GoldenPalace.com officials counter that it is increasingly difficult to "demean" a sport where fighters brawl at press conferences. The operators claim that boxers have a First Amendment right to wear such tattoos in the ring.
"My take is that they shouldn't have any say on what the boxers put on their bodies," said Eric Amgar, coordinator of sports and events for GoldenPalace.com. "You've seen boxers like Angel Manfredy and Johnny Tapia covered with tattoos. Nobody told them anything."
George McCabe, a spokesman for the site, said Hopkins isn't alone in his willingness to wear the tattoos in order to make some extra money during a fight.
"Every day that goes by there are fighters that are in limbo," he said. "We have a lot of guys that are interested in doing this and we want to find out (if the tattoos are allowed) as soon as possible."