On Tuesday, representatives from around the internet gambling and online poker industries made their arguments in front of Judge Thomas Wingate in a courtroom in Frankfort, Kentucky. The topic: the order by Governor Steve Beshear to seize 141 internet gambling domains including fulltiltpoker.com, bodoglife.com, pokerstars.com, and doylesroom.com. Two days removed from that hearing, the industry has begun to react to the proceedings.
The Safe and Secure Internet Gambling Initiative (SSIGI), which has become a major industry resource for legislation on a federal level, weighed in on the actions by Governor Beshear. In a statement released on Wednesday, SSIGI spokesperson Jeffrey Sandman stated, “Governor Beshar is right to acknowledge that Internet gambling is flourishing in an underground marketplace and a change is needed to protect Kentuckians and all Americans. Unfortunately, his solution is flawed. Prohibition has failed before and is not likely to stop Kentuckians or anyone in the U.S. from continuing to find a way to gamble online.” The SSIGI is endorsed by Baker Tilly, eCOGRA, and the Remote Gambling Association, among others. It is headquartered in Washington, D.C.
In an article that appeared in the Washington Post newspaper on Thursday, GoDaddy counsel Christine Jones commented, “We issued a registrar certificate to the State that says the court has jurisdiction over the issue, but it doesn’t have control over the domains, other than the ability to exercise judgment, so that when there is a final adjudication on the merits of the case or a settlement by the parties, we will honor that outcome.”
Ed Leydon, President of the Interactive Media Entertainment and Gaming Association (iMEGA), who argued in the courtroom in Frankfort on Tuesday, notes that Governor Beshear’s actions violate the “Commerce Clause” of the United States Constitution: “A state can’t interfere with interstate commerce and certainly can’t interfere with commerce involving foreign countries. The Supreme Court has been clear that it can’t be done except under the most narrow of circumstances.” Ironically, iMEGA is also suing the Federal Government to declare the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA) unconstitutional. It recently filed its case in the Third Circuit Court of Appeals.
Judge Wingate announced that he would need seven days to mull the arguments presented from both sides over. A decision is due next Wednesday, October 15th, in an announcement that will set a historical precedent. Being in a state capital like Frankfort, Judge Wingate has heard cases regarding the application of the state’s constitution. However, the decision in this case looms large for an entire industry.
Leyden believes that Wingate understands the implications of his decision, whether he elects to uphold the Governor’s seizure order or sides with the internet gambling industry: “We certainly laid out the implications for him. He had the opportunity to hear form very good lawyers and we’ll see what happens from here. The case will have a global impact.”
Arguments in the courtroom on Tuesday centered on, in part, whether internet gambling domain names such as absolutepoker.com and ultimatebet.com are “gambling devices,” which are allowed to be seized under Kentucky law. The term commonly refers to tangible objects like slot machines and roulette wheels that would be confiscated in a police raid. Attorneys for the internet gambling industry have argued that domain names are not tangible, existing only in cyberspace.
Several internet gambling websites have already stopped taking Kentucky customers despite the official ruling by Judge Wingate not having occurred yet. It is unknown exactly how the decision will be handed down next Wednesday. We’ll have the latest developments from Kentucky as they unfold.
What will happen is that America will take on a China stance on the Internet, now that the US has a Czar for Copyrights, it’s just a matter of time it turns completely socialist. They will own the banks, run the mortgage companies, control content, and only allow the sheep to play the lottery.