It’s been 16 months since 141 internet gambling domain names belonging to some of the world’s largest online poker sites were seized in Kentucky. As their assets face potential forfeiture, the owners of the domain names may learn their fate as soon as January 21st.
In October, the Kentucky Supreme Court heard oral arguments in the case, which pits the state’s Justice and Public Safety Cabinet against the owners of the 141 domain names in jeopardy, including those of PokerStars and Full Tilt Poker. If the Commonwealth were successful, the domains would be inaccessible not just in Kentucky, but also all over the world. The Interactive Media Entertainment and Gaming Association (iMEGA) represents the internet gambling industry.
January 21st represents the next date that the Kentucky Supreme Court may hand down a decision, although the highest court in the state began hearing oral arguments in other cases this week. Complicating the matter further was a request from Commonwealth attorneys to add names to the case. The document, which was filed in December (two months after oral arguments were heard), reads in part, “In the course of the litigation and the Commonwealth’s continuing investigation, the Commonwealth has learned the identity of certain entities and individuals involved in internet gambling, some of whom are U.S. citizens.” Who or what the Commonwealth refers to is unknown.
The motion called for a January 20th hearing in front of Judge Thomas Wingate, who upheld the State’s seizure in October of 2008. iMEGA Chairman Joe Brennan told Poker News Daily that the prospects of the State appealing to the U.S. Supreme Court do not appear to be favorable: “The state has to apply to the Supreme Court. The Justice Department appealed to the Supreme Court after the U.S. Third Circuit Court of Appeals struck down the Child Online Protection Act because they wanted the law upheld. The Supreme Court wouldn’t hear it. If that didn’t work, I hardly think a couple of attorneys that are two time losers in Kentucky would get much of an opportunity.”
Contrastingly, Brennan revealed that if the internet gambling trade organization were on the losing end of a decision from the Kentucky Supreme Court, it would appeal to the federal version. Brennan argued, “At that point, we’d have a good case for being seen. You get into all of the stuff that the Court loves to discuss like due process, property rights, and free speech, topics the Court has a track record of loving to entertain.” The Kentucky Supreme Court is comprised of a seven-member panel; six justices heard oral arguments three months ago.
After Judge Wingate ruled in favor of the Commonwealth in October of 2008, iMEGA and the other parties involved called for the intervention of the Kentucky Court of Appeals, which ruled by a two-to-one margin one year ago that the State did not have jurisdiction to act. Commonwealth attorneys then appealed to the Kentucky Supreme Court noting that, essentially, two judges had ruled in favor of the seizure, while the same number had ruled against it.
Meanwhile, the U.S. Third Circuit Court of Appeals decreed that the legality of internet gambling may ultimately depend on the state in which a player is located. iMEGA did not appeal the decision in its Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act constitutionality challenge and has no plans to in the future, according to Brennan. He explained, “The Court upheld the law, but it upheld it in a way that kind of serves our purposes right now. You have a federal judge saying that it’s up to the states.” Internet gambling, consequently, may be governed like its brick and mortar counterpart in the future.
Originally, industry experts forecasted that the Kentucky Supreme Court would hand down a decision between January and April, or three to six months following oral arguments.