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Kentucky Supreme Court to Rule on Internet Casino Forfeitures
LEXINGTON, KENTUCKY --
After well over a year of legal battles, the strange case of Kentucky's attempt to seize 141 Internet casino domain names will receive a decision from the state's highest court. The online gambling case is expected to be among the rulings handed down on January 21st by the state Supreme Court.
In the fall of 2008, Governor Steve Beshear had private attorneys represent the state in a civil suit designed to force the forfeiture of the Internet casino domain names. A judge found that an ancient state law forbidding the use of "gambling devices" effectively opened the door for the seizure of the names.
But the Court of Appeals found that the lower court had misapplied the term "gambling device," overturning the verdict without addressing larger issues of constitutionality and due process. The state continued onward and appealed to the state Supreme Court, as the private attorneys had agreed to accept payment from whatever damages the state collected.
"Unlicensed, unregulated, illegal Internet gambling poses a tremendous threat to the citizens of the Commonwealth because of its ease, availability and anonymity," said Beshear when bringing the suit. But a number of unconnected groups, like the ACLU, Internet freedom associations, and civil libertarians joined gaming industry members in rejecting Beshear's thinking.
"This clearly oversteps his bounds as Governor of Kentucky and likely violates several laws including the U.S. Constitution," says John Pappas of the Poker Players Alliance.
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