Appeals Court Rules Against Kentucky in Internet Gambling Domain Case
In late 2008, the Commonwealth of Kentuckyattempted to seize the domains of well over 100 internet gambling sites, including PokerStars.com, FullTiltPoker.com, and DoylesRoom.com. Although several of the sites in the original group no longer exist or have migrated to different URLs, the case rages on after six years. Last week, an appeals court ruled against the Commonwealth of Kentucky and in favor of the Interactive Gaming Council, or IGC.
In October 2008, Judge Thomas Wingate upheld the Commonwealth’s seizure. Kentucky Governor Steve Beshearsaid at the time, “Unlike casinos that operate on land or on riverboats in the United States, these operations pay no tax revenues, provide no jobs, and yield no tourism benefits. They are leeches on our communities.” Kentucky allows online wagering on horse racing through sites like TwinSpires.com, which Louisville-based Churchill Downs owns.
According to the Daily Journal, Commonwealth attorneys attempted to take action against each domain individually rather than in groups, as had been the case. The news outlet regurgitated the ruling from Judge Allison Jones that read in part, “The Commonwealth cannot now turn the tables and ask the court to require each domain name owner to come forward individually and assert virtually identical legal arguments through separate counsel.”
What will happen from here is anyone’s guess. Commonwealth spokesperson Jennifer Brislintold the Daily Journal that many of the websites identified in the original 2008 complaint have “stopped doing business in Kentucky.” Therefore, the Commonwealth’s interest in the case may have waned.
Additionally, several major sites have since been dropped from the complaint, including FullTiltPoker.com, PokerStars.com, AbsolutePoker.com, UltimateBet.com, DoylesRoom.com, TruePoker.com, Bookmaker.com, and Bodog.com, according to the Daily Journal. The US Government seized several of those domains on Black Friday, while TruePoker.com and Bookmaker.com are available for purchase and AbsolutePoker.com and UltimateBet.com do not load. bwin.party settled with Kentucky to the tune of $15 million last year.
IGC will likely represent the owners of the 132 remaining domains going forward. The organization’s CEO, Keith Furlong, commented in the Daily Journal article, “Obviously, we consider this a win. We are also proud to be a catalyst for this decision, which provides guidance to all associations seeking to represent their members in the Commonwealth of Kentucky.”
Furlong told PocketFives in an exclusive statement, “The IGC is thankful for the careful review by Kentucky Court of Appeals giving our association the right to represent its members in the seizure and forfeiture of domain names by the Commonwealth of Kentucky. We are proud of the acknowledgement by the Court that IGC has played an integral part in virtually every stage of this litigation since its inception in 2008. We are also proud to be a catalyst for this decision, which provides guidance to all associations seeking to represent their members in the Commonwealth of Kentucky.”
If successful, the Commonwealth’s litigation would render each domain inaccessible not just in Kentucky, but also anywhere in the world.
The case was heard in the Kentucky Supreme Court (pictured) in October 2009, with the Commonwealth’s highest legal body ruling against the internet gambling industry. The Kentucky Supreme Court ruled that the organizations representing the domains did not have standing, but the case was ultimately funneled back to the Franklin Circuit Court.
In mid-2012, the US Government intervened in the case, charging that Kentucky had not acted on its legal claim: “Kentucky… has no ownership interest in the domain names; has never exercised possession, dominion, or control over them; and thus lacks standing to assert a claim in this action.” The US Government’s complaint specifically mentioned the websites of the four targets on Black Friday: PokerStars, Full Tilt Poker, Absolute Poker, and Ultimate Bet.
In mid-2013, Kentucky reached a $6 million settlement with the U.S. Government over the Absolute Poker and UltimateBet domain names.
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