PPA Berates Kentucky Seizure of Online Poker, Internet Gaming Domains

John Pappas, executive director of the Poker Players Alliance (PPA), the poker advocacy group with more than 13,000 members in the Commonwealth of Kentucky and over one million members nation-wide, lost no time in issuing the following statement yesterday in reaction to the seizure of 141 internet domain names related to online poker and online gambling, ordered by the Franklin Circuit Court in the Commonwealth of Kentucky. The domain names include such online poker sites as: AbsolutePoker.com, Bodoglife.com, Cakepoker.com, Doylesroom.com, Fulltiltpoker.com, and PokerStars.com.

"The Poker Players Alliance is outraged at the actions taken by Kentucky Governor Steve Beshear and the Franklin County Circuit Court to seize the domain names of Internet gambling websites. We believe this action 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.

"Many of Governor Beshear's arguments - that online poker is illegal, unregulated and without a mechanism to capture tax revenue - are false. Online poker is not illegal under Kentucky law, is regulated in its home jurisdiction and the Commonwealth of Kentucky chose not to license and regulate poker websites.

"If the Governor truly wants to implement tighter regulations, taxation mechanisms and consumer protections on Internet gambling, the PPA suggests he publicly support federal legislation by U.S. House of Representatives Financial Services Chairman Barney Frank, H.R. 2460, which would achieve those goals.

"Poker is a game of skill, a true American pastime and has a proud heritage in Kentucky. Simply because the game has evolved into the 21st Century, it should not be treated as suspect activity. Forcefully and secretly seizing control of websites that offer online poker games is not a sound public policy or a sound legal solution."

BACKGROUND

Secretary of the Justice Michael Brown, on behalf of the Commonwealth of Kentucky, brought the civil action before the court, seeking seizure and forfeiture of internet domain names used to promote or provide illegal gambling within the state.

Based on evidence at a hearing on September 18th, the court found that probable cause did exist to believe that the domain names in question were being used in connection with illegal gambling within the Commonwealth of Kentucky. The court also found sufficient basis for their seizure.

As a result, the court has ordered their respective registrars to transfer the domains to the account of the plaintiff. The notices were served electronically on registrars as per the procedures set out by ICANN.

A story published by the Kentucky Post at kypost.com erroneously reported that all 141 domain names had been transferred to "an account of the Plaintiff, Commonwealth of Kentucky" as dictated by the court order, reports PokerNews, but only two minor, non-poker domains: luckypyramidcasino.com and highrollerslounge.com are known to have had their domains seized under the order, which was sent electronically to Internet registrars after its issuance. Both of those domains are believed to have been serviced by US-based registrar service ENOM, allowing the seizures to occur.

However, none of the poker sites in first paragraph are believed to use US-based domain services, so all of those sites remained accessible with no interruption in service.>

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