Poker News Daily has confirmed that Cake Poker is no longer accepting new customers from the state of Kentucky. A reliable source at Cake Poker told Poker News Daily, “We still continue to accept U.S. players, except players from Kentucky.” The ban on new players from Kentucky went into effect about a week ago.
The trouble in Kentucky started in September when its Governor, Steve Beshear, ordered the seizure of 141 internet gambling domain names. They included those belonging to popular online poker rooms PokerStars, Full Tilt Poker, Ultimate Bet, Absolute Poker, Doyle’s Room, and Cake Poker. In a court room in Frankfort, Kentucky, the state’s capital, lawyers for the Interactive Gaming Council (IGC) and Interactive Media Entertainment and Gaming Association (iMEGA) argued that Kentucky did not have jurisdiction to seize domain names, that violations of due process occurred, and that Beshear’s actions infringed on the Commerce Clause of the United States Constitution.
In his ruling dated October 16th, Circuit Court judge Thomas Wingate upheld the seizure order and scheduled a final forfeiture hearing in the case. However, he added that companies that ceased taking customers from Kentucky would be absolved from further legal action. His mandate read, “Any of the Defendants 141 Domain Names… who on or before 30 days from entry of this Opinion and Order, installs the applicable software or device… which has the capability to block and deny access to their online gambling sites… shall be relieved of the effects of the Seizure Order.”
Both iMEGA and the IGC filed writs to the Kentucky Court of Appeals urging intervention in the case. The groups argued that the Commonwealth of Kentucky did not have jurisdiction to act and that the 141 internet gambling domain names would suffer irreparable harm if their URLs were forfeited. Should this occur, the domain would not only be inaccessible for users in Kentucky, but also all over the world. The Court of Appeals granted motions to stay the case. Oral arguments are now scheduled for December 12th in a Louisville court room.
Despite the fact that the case is stayed, several internet gambling sites have stopped taking customers from Kentucky. The Merge Gaming Network was one of the first to act. Sites that make their home on the Network include CarbonPoker, PDC Poker. Poker Nordica, Iron Duke, Rumble Poker, Spin32Poker, Reefer Poker, RPM Poker, and ACED. Existing customers from Kentucky are able to play as normal.
Originally, the Microgaming Network also exited the Kentucky market, doing so by enforcing a ban on customers from 13 states using IP blocking technology. However, the Microgaming Network recently stopped taking new U.S. customers entirely. Sites on the Microgaming Network include 32Red Poker, Intertops Poker, PokerTime, Royal Vegas Poker, Ladbrokes, Betway, Unibet, Pokerwize, Doyle’s Room, Gnuf, and Eurolinx.
A three judge Appeals Court panel will hear the case in December. Judges Caperton, Keller, and Taylor issued the order to stay the case at the lower court level, which means that the final forfeiture hearing, which had been scheduled for December 3rd, is now postponed indefinitely. Several groups have filed amicus briefs in the Kentucky case including the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) and the Poker Players Alliance (PPA).
The PPA’s brief asserts that poker is a game of skill, which it argues is legal under Kentucky state law: “It is therefore undisputed that poker hands are not usually won or lost based upon the cards held by the players, and that the skill involved in betting, checking, raising, and folding greatly overwhelms the element of chance contained in the turn of the cards.” Bluffing, for example, involves scooping a pot without having the best hand.
Cake Poker offers its customers $4.5 million in monthly guarantees including a $250,000 prize pool tournament on the final Sunday of the month. A $100,000 guaranteed tournament runs on all other Sundays. The online poker room is licensed and regulated by the country of Curacao, which is just off the coast of Venezuela.
