Online Gambling Domain Name Fight

December 15, 2008

The attorneys for the various online gambling companies have been making a strong case to get a recent ruling overturned in Kentucky. They say that authorities have no right to seize control over the online gambling sites, and that the state�s judges have acted erroneously.

They argued old precedents that said that online gambling was much like billboards � you can advertise anywhere you want, in your state, our of your state, it does not matter. The precedent was set that online gambling did not answer to any particular state, and therefore could not be held accountable.

However, a Kentucky judge ruling that the online gambling sites could be seized by the state, and allowed for an upcoming forfeiture hearing. The attorneys for the online gambling sites are now trying to get that ruling overturned as they say that no state has the authority to make that kind of move. They argue that the online gambling sites are based offshore, which puts them out of Kentucky�s jurisdiction.

The state�s attorneys argued that as a state they had the right to stop their residents from participating in online gambling. They said that they could put up road blocks if they wanted to in order to stop residents from leaving the state to gamble at other casinos as well. This outraged many of those present who said that they were not aware that Kentucky �owned� their citizens.

Approximately 13,000 residents participate in online gambling, and the state argues that they are not only trying to keep the income within the state, but that they are trying to protect their residents from online gambling addiction. Others argued that if they were so afraid of addiction, they should get rid of all gambling in their state.





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