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Vindicated! Kentucky URL Seizure Overturned

A week ago, the Kentucky Court of Appeals handed down a decision that almost certainly disgruntled gambling foes throughout the state. By a vote of two to one, it overturned a previous decision made by the Franklin County Circuit Court which permitted state lawmakers to seize the URLs of one hundred forty-one online slot machine and casino gaming sites as “unlawful gambling devices.” The blatantly protectionist move, made by Kentuckian officials in a desperate attempt to keep the internet gambling industry from poaching even more of the rapidly-dwindling revenues made by the horseracing industry, has been unpopular and controversial since it was proposed back in the fall.

The appellate court concluded that URLs cannot legitimately be considered gambling devices for the purpose of the lawsuit. Had a criminal court determined that the owners of the sites in question were guilty of any illicit activity, or if state law had specifically made reference to URLs as falling under the header of gambling devices, there might have been a case. Since there is not proof nor is there a law, the seizure would be unmerited.

It wasn’t just online slots and casino gambling site operators that were appalled by Kentucky’s efforts to seize the websites illegally. The American Civil Liberties Union of Kentucky, the Center for Democracy and Technology, and the Electronic Frontier Foundation had all worried about what dangerous precedent might be set by such a case. Furthermore, many of the sites may not even have to do with gambling by statute.

Back to January 2009 Archive.