Wednesday Still Target Day for Decision in Kentucky Domain Decision
A Franklin County Circuit Judge is still on schedule to render his decision in a controversial case whereby the Kentucky commonwealth is looking to seize some 141 Internet gambling domain names.
Governor Steve Beshear has accused the websites of siphoning off monies from the Kentucky economy, in particular its key horse racing industry. Beshear was elected into office last year running on a pro-gambling platform and received an undisclosed amount of donations from Kentucky members of the Poker Players Alliance.
Judge Thomas Wingate of the Franklin Circuit Courtroom ruled last Tuesday that until he finalizes his decision, the commonwealth must leave a number of online poker and casino sites "as is", meaning they must remain accessible to the public.
Just hours before that scheduled hearing, attorneys representing the state faxed industry attorneys a letter notifying that they had obtained the certificates for a handful of online poker and casino sites registered to GoDaddy.com out of Arizona. UltimateBet.com, CakePoker.com and DoylesRoom.com were among the big names that would be forced to seek alternative domain addresses in the event Judge Wingate rules in favor of the commonwealth. Lawyers representing Kentucky disclosed that some registrars were being less cooperative.
"Wednesday is still the day (for the decision)," Joe Brennan, Jr. of the Interactive Media Entertainment & Gaming Association advised Gambling911.com Tuesday morning.
During last week's hearing, some two dozen attorneys representing the online gambling industry presented arguments that covered the gamut of jurisdiction, property definition, inappropriate notice of legal action, failure to file through proper legal channels, discrimination related to the commerce clause, standing to represent parties who could not be present and right to free speech over the Internet.
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Christopher Costigan, Gambling911.com Publisher
