ACLU Joins PPA in filing Briefs in Kentucky Domain CaseHearing Is Scheduled for Dec. 3 |
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The Poker Players Alliance joined the Kentucky office of the ACLU, Network Solutions, Electronic Frontier Foundation and the Center for Democracy and Technology in filing Amicus briefs in the Kentucky Court of Appeals yesterday protesting a judge’s that Kentucky has the right to seize domain names used to gamble and play poker online.
That day, the judge also ruled that the “essence” of poker made it a game of chance, lumping online poker into the same gambling category as sports betting and online casino games.
Kentucky is going after 141 companies it says facilitate illegal online gambling there by using a law that allows the Commonwealth to seize devices that are used for gambling. In this case, the Commonwealth’s privately-hired attorneys are claiming that the domain names of online casinos, sports books and several poker sites, should be forfeited.
The Commonwealth is arguing it has the right to seize world-wide rights to the domain names under its laws, and the judge indeed signed a forfeiture order in October during a closed-door session. The judge then told the sites they could save themselves by simply geo-block the residents of Kentucky from accessing their services before the December hearing.
But Kentucky attorneys are seeking upwards of a $1 billion collectively from the companies and are doing everything they can to force the sites to both end business with Kentuckians and pay it big bucks.
Microgaming, which operates about 40 online poker rooms under various “skins,” already took the lead and ended service to Kentuckians last month.
The original forfeiture hearing, set for Nov. 17, was postponed to Dec. 3, to allow time for the Kentucky Court of Appeals to review the case and the PPA as well as attorneys from the companies caught in the middle of this will ask for another delay.
The entire PPA press release follows:
Several parties involved in the Kentucky domain name seizure case filed briefs yesterday (Nov. 14) in the Kentucky Court of Appeals, in opposition to the Franklin County Circuit Court’s October 16 ruling.
The Court of Appeals is scheduled to review the case on Monday, November 17. Among those who filed briefs are the Kentucky office of the ACLU, Network Solutions, Electronic Frontier Foundation, the Center for Democracy and Technology and the Poker Players Alliance (PPA).
Copies of these briefs are available at the Poker Players Alliance Web site.
The addition of the ACLU, along with some of the world’s most influential Internet freedom public interest groups, to the list of those in opposition to Kentucky’s action is further evidence of the far-reaching and potentially damaging implications this action could bring.
The PPA filed its brief because they believe the court made a gross error in judgment when it ruled that the “essence” of the game of poker was chance. While the State offered no evidence to prove that chance is the essence of the game of poker, those representing the online poker industry and its players provided substantial evidence to the court showing poker to be a game of skill (previous PPA Amicus and an Affidavit from a leading academic issue expert—available upon request).
This evidence was apparently ignored by the court and the court failed to conduct an evidentiary hearing—a fundamental principle of legal due process. The judge simply ruled on the point of fact, without the state offering any facts contrary to the substantial evidence submitted by PPA. The issue of whether poker is a game of skill, and thus legal in Kentucky, has support in case law and in science.
In summary, the PPA believes that the Franklin County Circuit Court is proceeding quickly toward an incorrect decision that will be costly to the citizens of Kentucky and poker players across the country.
The PPA has submitted this brief in support of the request that the Kentucky Court of Appeals prohibit the Franklin Circuit Court from further proceedings that will create irreparable harm to residents of the Commonwealth of Kentucky.
The original forfeiture hearing called for by the Franklin County Circuit Court—set for November 17, has been postponed to December 3 to allow time for the Kentucky Court of Appeals to review the case. The PPA, with the support of the other groups involved, is seeking postponement of the December 3 forfeiture hearing to allow time for the Court of Appeals time to consider these new Amicus Briefs.
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