Kentucky court overturns gambling domain seizure on appeal

A Kentucky court order authorizing the seizure of 141 overseas domains has been overturned by the Kentucky Court of Appeals. The court ruled that the domain names, all related to online gambling, do not fall under the state's definition of a "gambling device," and therefore they cannot be seized under that statute. The original ruling came down in September of 2008 when a Franklin County Circuit judge issued an order giving the Commonwealth of Kentucky permission to seize control of some 141 illegal online gambling domains. The court claimed that the state had the authorization to seize unlicensed and unauthorized "gambling devices," and that Internet domains fell under that definition. In order to regain control of their domains, site owners would either have to implement software to block Kentucky residents, or risk forfeiting their businesses. Around the same time as the ruling, Kentucky Governor Steve Beshear (who, incidentally, is the one who filed the lawsuit) described Internet gambling sites as "a tremendous threat to the citizens of the commonwealth because of its ease, availability and anonymity." What he didn't point out is that it's a much larger threat to the state's heralded horse-racing industry.