Due to computer issues, residents of Kentucky will need to wait at least one more day before the fate of internet gambling in the state is determined. The decision, which was scheduled to be made public by Judge Thomas Wingate on Wednesday, is now expected to be released on Thursday. Judge Wingate was in court for most of the day on Wednesday. After a decision had not been rendered at 5:00pm Eastern Time, his staff cited computer problems as the reason that the decision was delayed until tomorrow. Bluegrass Institute Policy Director Jim Waters confirmed the news to PocketFives.com. Waters and the rest of the industry will anxiously await the decision on Thursday.
One group that will be awaiting the decision on Thursday is the Interactive Media Entertainment and Gaming Association (iMEGA). The Washington, D.C.-based organization has been at the forefront of the fight, with its President, Ed Leyden, arguing fiercely that the actions by Kentucky Governor Steve Beshear to seize 141 internet gambling domain names violated the Commerce Clause of the United States Constitution. In a press release posted on iMEGA’s website, it questioned Beshear’s motivation: “But Kentucky is not trying to wage a moral battle. The governor is not claiming to protect the citizens of the commonwealth from ‘the evils of gambling.’ Instead, he is trying to have them all to himself. That is because Gov. Steve Beshear is a big supporter of gambling in Kentucky, and he wants to keep the money. So why not use his and the Kentucky courts’ power to take out the competition?”
One argument brought up by online gambling proponents centered around TwinSpires.com, a website that allows bets on horse racing. Although it’s licensed in Oregon, the site is owned by the parent company of racetrack Churchill Downs, which is based on Kentucky. TwinSpires.com is not among the 141 internet gambling domain names in question. In addition, the Kentucky Lottery has a second chance promotion which involves entering non-winning tickets online.
In addition to providing evidence that poker is a game of skill, an amicus brief filed by the Poker Players Alliance “concludes that given the state’s lack of evidence that poker as played on any of the websites in question is not a permitted game of skill under Kentucky law, there is ‘no reasonable chance of success on the underlying claim of illegality that would support its… basis for forfeiture of the domain names.’”
It is unclear when during the day on Thursday a decision will be released. As soon as a ruling is passed down, we’ll have it for you right here on PocketFives.com.
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