Beshear Looks To Recover Online Gambling Losses In Kentucky
Governor Steve Beshear of Kentucky launched an attack on the Internet gambling industry when he attempted to seize 141 online gambling domain names last summer. Now, Beshear is looking to recover funds lost by Kentucky residents in the hopes of bringing Kentucky more revenue.
A lawsuit has been filed against the parent company that runs Full Tilt Poker. Beshear claims that under Kentucky law, any money that was lost at the expense of illegal gambling. The governor's office referred to the law when speaking about the lawsuit.
The tricky part for Beshear will be convincing a judge that online gambling is illegal. In Kentucky, gambling is legal, running a casino, however, is illegal in the state. Internet gambling is using a virtual casino, and may not fall under the illegal casino laws in Kentucky.
The residents who have played at Full Tilt Poker will not receive any of the recovered funds if Beshear wins the case. Instead, the governor will claim the money for the state.
"As far as the money is concerned, any losses that would be recovered would go to the commonwealth on behalf of the citizens, so an individual would not receive those funds," wrote Jennifer Brislin, Representative from Beshear's office, in an e-mail to ABC News Law & Justice unit.
The case involving the domain names is still pending and has reached the state Supreme Court. If the state was to win that case, the domain names would become the property of Kentucky and would be shut down immediately.
April 13, 2010
Posted By Terry Goodwin
Staff Editor, CasinoGamblingWeb.com
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