A hearing in the Franklin County Circuit Court over whether Kentucky Governor Steve Beshear will be successfully able to gain control of 141 internet gambling domains has been postponed until Friday at 3:30pm ET, according to a statement released by Jennifer Brislin, the Communications Director for the Justice and Public Safety Cabinet. The hearing was originally scheduled for Thursday afternoon.
A list of the 141 domain names in question was posted on the Poker Players Alliance website. Those that would be affected include absolutepoker.com, bodoglife.com, cakepoker.com, bugsysclub.com, doylesroom.com, fulltiltpoker.com, goldenpalace.com, pokerhost.com, pokerstars.com, pokertime.com, reeferpoker.com, riverbelle.com, royalvegas.com, sportsbook.com, ultimatebet.com, wsex.com, and microgaming.com. According to the official complaint, the Commonwealth of Kentucky is seeking “seizure and forfeiture of internet domain names used to promote, conduct and/or advance illegal gambling” within its borders.
In a statement released by the Poker Players Alliance, the online poker industry’s main lobbying group, Executive Director John Pappas stated that he was “outraged at the actions taken by Kentucky Governor Steve Beshear and the Franklin County Circuit Court to seize the domain names of Internet gambling websites. We believe this action not only unduly restricts the freedom of Kentucky residents to play games of skill, such as poker, online, but sets a precedent for censorship of the Internet by force.”
In an editorial that appeared in the Louisville Courier-Journal newspaper on Wednesday, one reader remarked that money sent to off-shore internet gambling entities like the ones in question “are untaxed dollars, and losses are directed out of the country rather than toward Kentucky businesses, banks, and legal gambling activities, including racetracks. Moreover, since most internet gambling is off-shore and unregulated, players have few if any assurances that the games are honest and that they will be paid if they win.”
In Kentucky, the move to eradicate internet gambling from the Commonwealth partly surrounds the flourishing horse racing industry. Every year, Churchill Downs, located in Louisville, hosts the Kentucky Derby, which is arguably the most prestigious horse racing event in the world. Its winner in 2008, Big Brown, banked its owner $1.4 million for the victory. The Churchill Downs Company advertises TwinSpires.com, which allows online wagering in horse racing. United States Congressman Barney Frank (D-MA), Chairman of the House Financial Services Committee, stated in a hearing last Tuesday that whether online betting on horse racing was legal “depended on which department you asked.” Oregon-based TwinSpires.com is not among the 141 internet gambling domains listed in the case.
At the Federal level, HR 6870, the Payments System Protection Act, was successfully passed out of the House Financial Services Committee last Tuesday. The 2008 Congressional session is slated to end on Friday; however, given the economic issues in the United States, this is ultimately still up in the air. Whether Congress returns for a “lame duck” session after the 2008 general elections is also to be determined. For Frank, HR 6870 marked his second attempt at pushing through legislation to clarify the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act. In June, HR 6757 was struck down in Committee. HR 6870 calls for a list to be developed of legal and illegal internet gambling activities. The bill also enacts regulations of the UIGEA that affect sports betting within 60 days of becoming law.
This is political posturing at it’s worst! Most of these companies are located offshore and will simply ignore any court ruling as well they should. If Kentucky is so concerned with online gambling then why does it allow online betting on the Derby? More hypocrisy and pandering to the lunatics of the ‘religious’ right. Stay the hell out of the private lives of US citizens!
I am sick and tired of a certain group of people deciding what i can and can’t do. The same people who drink and gamble at the race track, then go to church and ask god to please stop internet gambling. Once again kentucky stands at the threshold of leading the country in selfish,ignorance,petty,and self-serving backwood beliefs. But really i blame the people who keep voting these bible-thumping, I’m better than you and have more money a**holes into office.Only then can we live the life of freedom. With or without internet gambling!!!!