In Frankfort, Kentucky on Tuesday, 50 people from around the internet gambling industry gathered to discuss the future of the industry in the state. The meeting, which was hosted by the Bluegrass Institute, was held in advance of a hearing on Tuesday during which Judge Thomas Wingate may decide whether to grant the State the right to seize 141 internet gambling domain names. Last Friday, briefs were filed from both sides.
Jim Waters, the Director of Policy and Communications for the Bluegrass Institute for Public Policy Solutions, told Poker News Daily, “The event this afternoon was terrific. I don’t think that the administration here was expecting that people would come together like this to stand up for Constitutional rights against seizure of intellectual property as well as threats against our personal freedoms.”
Attendees included media outlets from Louisville and Lexington. Members of the Kentucky population of the Poker Players Alliance (PPA) were also on the scene. The group is led by Rich Muny, who is its State Director. Jim Brennan and Ed Leyden from the Interactive Media Entertainment and Gaming Association (iMEGA) were on location in Frankfort. So were representatives from the Americans for Tax Reform, which is led by Grover Norquist. Waters remarked, “We had poker players and the Americans for Tax Reform on the same panel. It goes to show you that we all see the danger in allowing this action by the government to go unchallenged.”
The outcome of the internet gambling case in Kentucky has the potential to set a harmful (or helpful) precedent for the rest of the country and the rest of the world depending on its outcome. Waters noted, “What happens here is being watched across the world.” A statement posted in iMEGA’s website added, “Should the actions of Kentucky’s chief executive stand, the harm to Internet freedom would be immense. What a powerful weapon would be placed in the hands of government: to arbitrarily seize politically, religiously, or culturally-based Internet domains that may run contrary to the views of those in power.”
One possible outcome from Tuesday’s hearing would be that Judge Wingate would agree with Governor Steve Beshear, effectively ceasing the operation of the 141 internet gambling domain names in question. Another endgame would be Wingate overturning the seizure of the websites, restoring internet gambling in Kentucky to its condition three weeks ago. Waters told Poker News Daily that the original seizure by officials in Kentucky was done secretly behind closed doors. He added, “People in Kentucky haven’t even had the opportunity to express their views to elected officials.”
As reported on Poker News Daily, several online poker rooms had contingency plans in place. Full Tilt Poker, which uses the domain name fulltiltpoker.com, purchased fulltilt.com in advance of the initial forfeiture hearing. Absolute Poker and its sister site Ultimate Bet also developed a “Plan B.”
The PPA website claims that over 1,800 letters have been sent to Governor Beshear and other elected officials. In it, a plea for removal of poker from the lawsuit is given: “Poker is not gambling, nor is it a crime. Poker is a game of skill that was unfairly and improperly included in this action, and I request the immediate removal of the poker-only sites from your list of domains to seize.” The letter also points out that the PPA has 16,000 registered members in Kentucky and over one million worldwide.
The hearing on Tuesday is expected to last the entire day. Lawyers from iMEGA, the PPA, and Interactive Gaming Council (IGC) will be in attendance. So will lawyers from the State. We’ll keep you posted on the latest developments as they unfold. Learn more about the Bluegrass Institute, the organizers of Monday’s event, by visiting its website, bipps.org.
