ACLU Should Stand Firm in Kentucky Online Gambling Issue

The online gambling sector was dealt a serious blow on Thursday with news that the Kentucky Supreme Court reversed a state court of appeals ruling blocking an attempt by the Commonwealth of Kentucky to seize 141 domain names related to online gambling.

Kentucky Governor Steven Beshear has referred to these businesses as "leeches to the Commonwealth", suggesting they have siphoned revenues away from Churchill Downs in recent years.  Beshear himself continues to work at expanding intrastate gambling as a means of reducing budget shortfalls.

The Supreme Court ruling said that the Interactive Media Entertainment & Gaming Association (iMEGA) and the Interactive Gaming Council (IGC) lacked standing to bring the challenge since they have refused to identify their own members.  The Court suggests that its members may not be affected by the seizures. 

In the whole scheme of things, neither organization is particularly well recognized beyond their respective industry, that being online gambling. 

Enter the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU).  This behemoth organization began in 1920 and is one of the most feared entities in the US today. 

Electronic Frontier Foundation writes:

In amicus briefs filed with the Court of Appeals and the Kentucky Supreme Court in support of a writ vacating the trial court's order, EFF, Center for Democracy and Technology (CDT), and the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) argued that the First Amendment, the Commerce Clause, and the Due Process Clause of the Constitution prohibit state courts from interfering with Internet domain names that were registered and maintained outside the state.

Interactive Media Entertainment & Gaming Association (iMEGA) and the Interactive Gaming Council (IGC) will now need all the help they can get and the ACLU could be just what the doctor offered. 

The timing couldn't be much worse.  Joe Brennan, Jr., who founded iMEGA two years ago, just arrived home after spending Spring Break in Cancun, Mexico.

The Poker Players Alliance (PPA) pounded their respective chests right after the Kentucky decision was rendered.

"There are fundamental freedoms at stake in this case, not only the freedom of poker players in Kentucky and globally, but Internet freedom across the globe.  The Commonwealth's effort at such a bold, broad and, we believe, unlawful seizure sets a dangerous precedent for anyone who uses the Internet."

Brennan, Jr. was less harsh in his assessment of the situation, seeing things the way we might analyze something after sipping down a dozen Tequila Sunrises: 

"All along, it seemed the Court wanted to go our way, and this decision today indicates that is still the case."

Did a rock-filled piñata fall and hit Joe on the head while he was in Mexico? 

His suggestion is that the Court will grant online gambling a winning decision should the industry bring forth even a single owner affected by this matter. 

Granted, he may have a rabbit in his magic hat from what we are hearing but does anyone in the industry really want to step forward on US soil and declare their association with one of these 141 Internet gambling domains when the last known people to have stepped on US soil from the industry were imprisoned? 

A bunch of three letter words immediately popped into my head when I read this quote:  "DOJ", "FBI", "IRS", "SOS", "OMG", "RUN".

But all is not lost with the ACLU waiting in the wings as EFF suggests they are. 

Don't get me wrong.  I think these industry trade organizations do a whole lot of good for what it's worth, but the perception remains that they are a "front" for a "rogue" industry.

iMEGA has long claimed it was granted standing.  So why is it that individual courts do not recognize this?

I don't have the answer to that question. 

All courts recognize that the ACLU has standing, and this is a fact that cannot be denied. 

Jagajeet Chiba, Gambling911.com