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The online gambling industry has won a Kentucky Court of Appeals decision. That court has ruled that the commonwealth cannot seize over 140 domain names of Internet gambling firms.
The decision was handed down Tuesday afternoon.
Joe Brennan Jr., founder of The Interactive Media Entertainment & Gaming Association, was ecstatic by the ruling.
“This is a huge day for our industry!” he declared.
It is also a huge day for iMEGA, which filed the appeal on behalf of the industry. They were in the process of issuing an official statement following the decision which was handed down shortly before 3 pm EST.
Kentucky Governor Steve Beshear has announced he wanted to shut down 141 illegal Internet gambling sites in the state in an effort to stop unregulated online gaming.
Beshear filed a civil suit against the 141 domain names and was asking a circuit court to force the sites to block access to Kentucky users or give up control of their domain names.
"Unlicensed, unregulated, illegal Internet gambling poses a tremendous threat to the citizens of the Commonwealth because of its ease, availability and anonymity," Governor Steve Beshear said.
"The owners and operators of these illegal sites prey on Kentucky citizens, including our youth, and deprive the Commonwealth of millions of dollars in revenue. It's an underworld wrought with scams and schemes."
A circuit court in Franklin, Kentucky ruled that the commonwealth could seize the domain names. He later granted iMEGA's Motion to Stay after the appeal was filed.
The decision comes on the same day that President Barack Obama officially entered into the White House. The online gambling sector, reeled by the past administration, is hoping for change on a federal level.
The ruling essentially prevents other states from taking similar actions.
