It’s been nearly two months since Judge Thomas Wingate issued an order upholding the seizure and possible forfeiture of 141 internet gambling domain names in the Commonwealth of Kentucky. The URLs in jeopardy include those belonging to the major online poker sites that still service U.S. customers, including FullTiltPoker.com and PokerStars.com. The Court of Appeals in Louisville, Kentucky will take center stage on Friday, when the parties involved argue in front of a three judge panel.
One of the organizations defending the 141 domains is the Interactive Media Entertainment and Gaming Association (iMEGA). The industry trade group is led by Joe Brennan, its Chairman, who told Poker News Daily, “Everybody is going to be bringing their ‘A’ game. Everyone is going to be led by their local counsel from Kentucky.” Proceedings are scheduled to last for 50 minutes according to the Court of Appeals’ schedule and will begin promptly at 10:00am local time on Friday.
Both sides have submitted briefs in advance of the hearing. The three judge panel, which includes Michael Caperton, Michelle Keller, and Jeff Taylor, will review the information prior to tomorrow’s hearing. The panel will also examine the October 16th judgment by Wingate, which was passed down in a Circuit Court in Frankfort, Kentucky. Brennan explained, “The appeals process is very tight at the State and Federal levels. There are very strict time limits in terms of how long counsel can address the court.”
Once the Court of Appeals has heard arguments on Friday, it will deliberate and revisit the briefs filed by both sides as well as review oral arguments. Brennan expects a decision to be passed down within a few weeks, although with the holiday season rapidly approaching, the timeline is generally unknown. In the event that the Court of Appeals passes down a judgment in favor of the State, Brennan told Poker News Daily that iMEGA will seek another route: “If we don’t receive satisfaction from Court of Appeals, we will appeal to the State Supreme Court.”
There were several petitions filed to the Court of Appeals. In each, the lack of jurisdiction by the Commonwealth to seize domain names located in cyberspace was addressed. However, Brennan noted that iMEGA’s arguments also focus on the broader issues in play: “We also addressed the gambling devices law to say that the Judge and Commonwealth had misapplied it. There was no due process in this and the Commonwealth is also violating the Commerce Clause of the Constitution.” The latter states that the Federal Government has the authority to regulate commerce with other countries or between states. In this case, Kentucky may be taking on that role.
Following the October 16th ruling, Kentucky Governor Steve Beshear stated, “The court validated our concern that there is illegal and unregulated Internet gambling in Kentucky.” On the actual legality of internet gambling in the Commonwealth, Brennan argued, “There is no Federal law that makes it explicitly illegal for someone to gamble on the internet. There are six states that have laws on the books against internet gambling, but Kentucky is not one of them.”
Wingate gave domain name owners 30 days to block customers from Kentucky, else risk forfeiting their URLs. In response, sites on the Merge Gaming Network as well as Cake Poker, Ultimate Bet, and Absolute Poker did just that. The Microgaming Network initially pulled out of Kentucky, but later elected to opt out of the U.S. market entirely. A forfeiture hearing was scheduled for December 2nd, but has since been postponed indefinitely pending the appeals.
The Court of Appeals case will take place at the Jefferson County Judicial Center located at 700 West Jefferson Street in Louisville. The court room is located on the 10th floor.
