by Head of Search
Andrew Girdwood
Andrew Girdwood
Casinos and poker sites could have their domain names stripped from them as the State of Kentucky takes unilateral action against sites hosted outside Kentucky. Steve Beshear, Governor of Kentucky, has won a Court Order to transfer 141 domain names to the Commonwealth of Kentucky.
Names on the list include FullTiltPoker.com, DoylesRoom.com and BodogLife.com. He described the online gaming sites as "leeches on our communities".
The online gaming industry has responded angrily. The Poker Players Alliance stated;"not only unduly restricts the freedom of Kentucky residents to play games of skill, such as poker, online, but sets a precedent for censorship of the internet by force."
Speaking at the popular online gaming conference CapEuro in Barcelona Pete Wilson from lawyers Blake Lapthorn gave the attendees a quick overview of the situation. It was noted that the law being enacted by Kentucky seemed only to refer to 'mechanical devices' although further legal study was needed.
In 2000 the domain registrar Network Solutions won a case against Umbro International in which the Virginia Supreme Court ruled that a domain name is a contract for services rather than a commodity. Wilson suggested, given the 2000 ruling, Beshear may find his court order impossible to enforce.
At the time of writing less than a dozen casino sites had come offline with hosts and registers such as GoDaddy yet to obey the Kentucky Court.
The court hearing in Kentucky to discuss the list has been delayed until Friday the 27th of September.
The Kentucky Derby, the famous horse racing event, is protected by US federal laws.
