Online Gambling Domain Owners Must Show Up In Kentucky Court

The battle over the seizure of 141 online gambling website domain names in Kentucky will move along in the court system, but the owners of the sites will have to show their face in court. For the second time, the state Supreme Court ruled that the owners must appear in court to stop the seizures.

An earlier ruling by the Supreme Court said that to prevent the seizures, the owners must appear in court. Now, for the second time the Supreme Court has made the same ruling. It is a blow to website owners who wished to remain anonymous.

In 2008, Governor Steve Beshear attempted to seize 141 website domain names. Immediately, trade groups connected with the Internet gambling industry hired lawyers to fight the seizure. The lawyers attempted to battle the case in court without the owners of the sites present.

In Thursday's ruling, the Supreme Court called into question whether some of the owners of the websites actually owned the domain names that went along with the sites. That is a piece to the case that will have to be sorted out as the two sides continue to battle.

Kentucky racetracks have been experiencing tough economic times in the past several years and Beshear saw the domain seizures as a way to restrict Kentucky residents from accessing the sites. The idea was that the residents would then start spending their gambling money at the tracks. The plan backfired, however, when a Circuit Court ruled that the seizures were not legal.

Governor Beshear has appealed that ruling to the Supreme Court, and the Court has yet to rule on the issue. The next step in the process will be for the owners of the sites to come forward to protect the domain names from being seized. It is not yet known if and when that will occur.

September 24, 2010
Posted By Terry Goodwin
Staff Editor, CasinoGamblingWeb.com
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