In a Franklin County, Kentucky courtroom on Tuesday, lawyers from the Commonwealth of Kentucky and the internet gambling industry argued in front of Judge Thomas Wingate over the seizure of 141 domain names. The order to seize the names initially was given by Governor Steve Beshear (pictured), who is trying to rid the Commonwealth of internet gambling forever. After hearing arguments from both sides, Judge Wingate announced that he would deliberate for one week and will reveal his verdict next Wednesday. Representatives from the Poker Players Alliance and other industry groups were in attendance.
Arguments in the case have focused on, among other things, whether the State has the authority to seize domain names like bodoglife.com, ultimatebet.com, absolutepoker.com, fulltiltpoker.com, pokerstars.com, and doylesroom.com. PPA Executive Director John Pappastold PocketFives.com, “The Judge was getting an education on what exactly the implications of the order would be. The State’s attorneys did their usual hemming and hawing, claiming that internet gambling was shady.” The move was presumably made by Beshear in order to protect the Kentucky Lottery and horse racing industry.
Industry groups like the Poker Players Alliance, Interactive Media Entertainment and Gaming Association, and Interactive Gaming Council were all in attendance. Pappas discusses the State’s arguments: “They made claims that online gambling is illegal in all 50 states, but ironically didn’t include the online horse racing site, TwinSpires.com, in their seizure order. If all online gambling is illegal, then why isn’t the one site that they have jurisdiction over included? It was interesting to watch the arguments back and forth. It’s difficult to handicap what the Judge is going to do.”
TwinSpires.com is a website that allows customers to wager on horse racing. It’s owned by the parent company of Churchill Downs and accepts bets from Kentucky residents. It has quickly become one of the central discussion points of the lawsuit given that many agree that the State has jurisdiction over it. Because of inconsistencies in the State’s arguments as well as the detrimental precedent that would be set, concerned poker players from across Kentucky have flooded the Governor’s office with nearly 2,000 phone calls and e-mails urging Beshear to reconsider his actions.
On the grassroots effort, which has become a staple of the PPA, Pappas commented, “We’ve made quite an impression at the Governor’s office. I believe that the Governor and his attorneys thought they were going to issue the order, the websites would block access, and no one would care. What we’ve seen is that there are a lot of residents who do care and took the time to speak out.”
Rich Muny, who is the PPA’s State Director for Kentucky, told PocketFives.com, “We did everything we could. We didn’t have any issues on the legal side and we were quick to flood Beshear with e-mails and calls. We keep hearing about how much his office is hearing from us. Just getting the word out is important.”
A story that appeared on WAVE-TV in Louisville stated, “Kentucky Justice and Public Safety officials say all of the sites that are on the list operate offshore and are illegal. They say online pari-mutuel wagering like TwinSpires.com is allowed by federal law and is fully regulated.” Pappas told WAVE-TV, “We would welcome any proposal to regulate and tax online poker. In fact, if [Governor Beshear] moves forward with his casino plans and doesn’t include regulating and taxing online poker, we will oppose [it] because of his position against our pastime.” It’s one of the first times that the PPA has come out against land-based gambling, which it normally embraces due to the propensity of casinos to include card rooms.
Muny added that, if Beshear were successful and the 141 domain names in question were to be seized, in order for the domain name to be reclaimed in Kentucky, online poker sites would need to sign a consent decree and agree never to do business in the State again.
There is no hearing scheduled for next Wednesday, October 15th. Rather, Judge Wingate will simply state his opinion in writing.
Tags: Bingo, Casino, Kentucky, Steve Beshear
