The beginning of this year has brought a plethora of good news for poker players overall. The decision of a Pennsylvania court that poker is a game of skill has reopened the doors to the question of whether poker is gambling. After the inauguration of President Barack Obama yesterday, the administration placed a hold on the “midnight push” of regulations and laws that former President Bush enacted over his last month in office, including the UIGEA. Yesterday also brought great news in the ongoing battle in the state of Kentucky.
After hearing oral arguments on the appeal of the decision by Judge Franklin Wingate of the Franklin Circuit Court in December and deliberating the case for about a month, the three-member Court of Appeals of Kentucky decided to overturn the decision that Governor Steve Beshear of Kentucky and his Secretary of Justice, J. Michael Brown, had sought in seizing 141 online gaming and poker domain names from their rightful owners. Beshear and Brown entered this action with the idea to “protect” the citizens of Kentucky from online gambling.
The latest round of news has the leadership and membership of the Poker Players Alliance extremely excited. The Executive Director of the organization, John Pappas, remarked,
This is a tremendous victory for Internet freedom and the rights of Kentucky residents who enjoy playing online poker.
We are pleased that the Appeals Court has forcefully reversed Judge Wingate’s earlier ruling and confirmed many of the arguments that have been raised in opposition to the seizure effort. The Court of Appeals has agreed with the PPA’s position that Judge Wingate did not have jurisdiction to issue the order that he entered against these domains and that Secretary Brown has no legitimate right to deprive the citizens of Kentucky of the legal right to play poker online.
Along with such organizations as the Interactive Media Entertainment and Gaming Association (iMEGA) and the ACLU, the PPA’s state membership and leadership was crucial in helping to overturn the decision. Rick Muny, who is the Kentucky state director for the PPA, offered some ideas that Governor Beshear and his administration could take, rather than appealing the decision of the Appellate Court.
On behalf of the thousands of PPA members who live in Kentucky, we hope that Governor Beshear and Secretary Brown will abandon this misguided effort and focus new energies into regulation and taxation of Internet poker,” Muny stated after the decision was rendered. “This common-sense approach would benefit Kentucky’s poker enthusiasts and the revenue will benefit the state as a whole. Rather than spending hard to find dollars on this case, the Governor could actually turn this into a much needed new revenue stream for the Commonwealth.
The Court of Appeals decided in a 2-1 vote – with Justices Michelle Keller and Jeff Taylor voting for the rejection of the previous ruling and Justice Michael Caperton dissenting – that the decision by the Circuit court that said the Internet domain names in question were gaming devices was inaccurate. Furthermore, the usage of a civil court decision to prosecute a criminal action was also wrong. Currently, there is no word on whether the state of Kentucky will appeal this decision and Poker News Daily will continue to monitor further action in the case.
