Poker Victory in Kentucky: 2

The Poker Player Alliance and all online casino organizations have big fight ahead of them if they want to continue with the momentum they gained from the recent victory in Kentucky. The Governor of Kentucky, Governor Steve Beshear lead the troops in seizing over 141 online casino and poker domains. Over the past six months there was a lot of discussion on whether or not these domains were in the jurisdiction of Governor Beshear. Nevertheless the online casino domains were taken and then the owners were told to hire a good lawyer in order to fight off the slue of big time lawyers that Gov. Beshear had waiting for them from Chicago. This prosecution had anyone who used online casinos quivering at the thought of state governors being able to have that much power over internet domains.

Those cases went to court and then all the way to the Court of Appeals for the Commonwealth of Kentucky and the Franklin Circuit Court Division II where the decision was officially made to overturn the seizure of the 141 domains. This meant that all of the opposition against Governor Beshear was free and clear of their illegal online casino and poker website charges. The outcome of this case is a definite precedent for the world of online poker and hopefully that of online casinos. As the decision was made by the courts inn Kentucky that domain names are not considered ‘Gambling Devices’. That is why the court ruled in the favor of the defendant, because it is not a device for gambling there is no right for the state to forfeit the website or seize it.

John Pappas, the Executive Director of the Poker Players Alliance could not have been happier upon hearing the court’s decision on online casino and poker sites. He said, "We are pleased that the appeals court has forcefully reversed Judge Wingate’s earlier ruling and confirmed many of the arguments that have been raised in opposition to the seizure effort. The Court of Appeals has agreed with the PPA’s position that Judge Wingate did not have jurisdiction to issue the order that he entered against these domains and that Secretary Brown has no legitimate right to deprive the citizens of Kentucky of the legal right to play poker online."

As far as online casinos go, the online casino industry still has to put up its own fight to get as far as the internet poker industry has gotten. The Kentucky State Director for the PPA, Rich Muny said: , "This common-sense approach would benefit Kentucky’s poker enthusiasts and the revenue will benefit the state as a whole. Rather than spending hard to find dollars on this case, the Governor could actually turn this into a much needed new revenue stream for the Commonwealth." We look forward to see how this case effects others in the internet gambling and online casino industry.