Due Process Ignored in Kentucky Online Gambling Domain Seizures

In the USA the legal saga continues with various States placing the legality of online gambling in a position of ambiguity. No one is sure what to expect or what is really going on especially in the state of Kentucky.

The state of Kentucky seized domain names in an attempt to force online gambling operators to stop their activities in that state. The government of Kentucky claimed that these domain names were a vehicle by which patrons could access international gambling sites and therefore break the law. The state abandoned it's efforts when it was ruled they did not have jurisdiction to proceed in this aggressive way.

Recently though they have re-established their claims of jurisdiction over the international domain names by appealing the ruling to the Kentucky Supreme Court. The reason the state says is that some of these domains are owned by American citizens who are as yet unidentified.

The Interactive Media Entertainment & Gaming Association has championed the cause of operators and has repeatedly requested that lawyers for the state reveal the identities of the American they say are owners these domain names.

Those requests continue to be ignored. In a statement by the Interactive Media Entertainment & Gaming Association it was summed up, "Lawyers representing the commonwealth of Kentucky have refused to name any new individuals targeted in their attempt to seize ownership of 141 Internet domain names, all related to online gambling, and then transfer them to the state," "Despite numerous requests from attorneys representing the industry’s trade associations, the commonwealth’s attorneys have sternly declined to identify anyone."

The chairman of iMEGA, Joe Brennan Jr., stated bluntly, “These lawyers lost a very public battle with us in the Court of Appeals, and probably sense the same result from the State Supreme Court, so they’ll do anything to keep this thing alive. They were counting on a big payday from our members, in the form of settlements to get their own property back, but it doesn’t look like that’s going to happen. Since they don’t get one nickel from the state to pursue this, it’s clear that the drive for big money has taken over, and any sense of fair play or due process has gone out the window.”