Kentucky Governor trying to crack down on Online Gambling

beaston · 09-23-2008, 01:31 PM

This is HUGE.

Steve Beshear is trying to seize 140 gambling domain names, some of which include GoldenPalace.com, WSEX.com, SportsBetting.com, FullTiltPoker.com, PokerStars.com CakePoker.com, DoylesRoom.com and MANY others.

Apparently he's trying to get the "Sympathy" vote by saying that "... casino gambling could bring state coffers about $500 million per year in money that could be used to bolster state spending in areas such as education or health care."

What are his true motives? Is he trying to pave the road for offline gambling in Kentucky, and weed out the competition beforehand?

Full Article

Quote:

"Unlike casinos that operate on land or on riverboats in the United States, these operations pay no tax revenues, provide no jobs and yield no tourism benefits," Beshear said at a Monday afternoon Capitol press conference. "They are leeches on our communities."

PLEASE contact KY's state representatives and let them know how you feel about this - Even if you don't live in Kentucky. There's power in numbers. If Steve Beshear is successful in this bid, how many other states are going to follow?

Contacts:

Quote:

Kentucky-Congressman

NAME:
Edward Whitfield (Republican)
236 Cannon Office Building
United States House of Representatives
Washington, D.C. 20515
PHONE:
1-202-225-3115
FAX:
1-202-225-3547
E-MAIL:
ed.whitfield@mail.house.gov
WEB:
http://www.house.gov/whitfield/

NAME:
Ron Lewis (Republican)
2418 Rayburn House Office Building
United States House of Representatives
Washington, D.C. 20515
PHONE:
1-202-225-3501
FAX:
1-202-226-2019
E-MAIL:
http://www.house.gov/writerep/
WEB:
http://www.house.gov/ronlewis/

NAME:
Anne Northup (Republican)
1004 Longworth House Office Building
United States House of Representatives
Washington, D.C. 20515
PHONE:
1-202-225-5401
FAX:
1-202-225-5776
E-MAIL:
rep.northup@mail.house.gov
WEB:
http://www.house.gov/northup/

NAME:
Ken Lucas (Democrat)
1237 Longworth House Office Building
United States House of Representatives
Washington, D.C. 20515
PHONE:
1-202-225-3465
FAX:
none
E-MAIL:
http://www.house.gov/writerep/
WEB:
http://www.house.gov/kenlucas/

NAME:
Harold Rogers (Republican)
2406 Rayburn House Office Building
United States House of Representatives
Washington, D.C. 20515
PHONE:
1-202-225-4601
FAX:
1-202-225-0940
E-MAIL:
Talk2Hal@mail.house.gov
WEB:
http://www.house.gov/rogers/

NAME:
Ernie Fletcher (Republican)
2463
United States House of Representatives
Washington, D.C. 20515
PHONE:
1-202-225-4706
FAX:
1-202-225-2122
E-MAIL:
http://www.house.gov/writerep/
WEB:
http://www.house.gov/fletcher/

Kentucky-Senators

NAME:
Jim Bunning (Republican)
316 Hart Senate Office Building
United States Senate
Washington, D.C. 20510
PHONE:
1-202-224-4343
FAX:
1-202-224-1373
E-MAIL:
jim_bunning@bunning.senate.gov
WEB:
http://www.senate.gov/~bunning/

NAME:
Mitch McConnell (Republican)
361A Russell Senate Office Building
United States Senate
Washington, D.C. 20510
PHONE:
1-202-224-2541
FAX:
1-202-224-2499
E-MAIL:
senator@mcconnell.senate.gov
WEB:
http://www.senate.gov/~mcconnell/

Here's Steve Beshear's contact information too. :smile:

Quote:

Mailing Address
700 Capitol Avenue, Suite 100
Frankfort, Kentucky 40601
Phone/Fax

Main Line: (502) 564-2611
Fax: (502) 564-2517
TDD: (502) 564-9551 (Telecommunications Device for the Deaf)

Biscuit · 09-23-2008, 02:07 PM

Do you think if somebody actually does something stupid enough average Americans will start to care about this issue?

beaston · 09-23-2008, 02:09 PM

I'll be posting updates as they come in....

Kudos for PokerStars and other sites for stepping up to the plate and fighting this. I, too, don't see where Kentucky has jurisdiction in the matter.

Quote:

PokerStars and others are believed to be preparing to send a team of lawyers to Kentucky to fight the legal claim, which is being backed by governor Steve Beshear. They are expected to argue the Kentucky courts have no jurisdiction over dotcom domain names registered overseas. Insiders believe they will side-step arguments about whether or not taking cash from US players is in breach of US law.

Also, where in the hell does Steve Beshear get off by playing the "moral" card? Kentucky has a lottery as well as Horse Racing, so why is gambling online so evil?

Quote:

In a statement welcoming the order, Governor Beshear said: "The owners and operators of these illegal sites prey on Kentucky citizens, including our youth, and deprive the Commonwealth of millions of dollars in revenue. It's an underworld wrought with scams and schemes." He described them as "leeches on our communities".

He conceded the action was in part designed to protect the interests of local horseracing-related gambling. Beshear has campaigned for more casinos to be licensed in Kentucky, prompting some critics to suggest his attacks on online operators looks morally inconsistent.

Quote:

Many industry experts suggested the Kentucky action was unlikely to succeed. "This is a stunt," said a Washington attorney, David Stewart.

...I hope they're right

Source

beaston · 09-23-2008, 02:12 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Biscuit

Do you think if somebody actually does something stupid enough average Americans will start to care about this issue?

I hope so.

Biscuit · 09-23-2008, 02:13 PM

Quote:

Nick Wood, managing director of London-based Com Laude, which holds the domain name for PokerStars, said: "We anticipated this could happen and we've developed an action plan which largely consists of us not responding." Milton Keynes-based Safenames, the registrar for Full Tilt, declined to comment.

That one made me laugh. 8)

beaston · 09-23-2008, 02:16 PM

Here's the court papers:

http://www.thedomains.com/wp-content...main-names.pdf

beaston · 09-23-2008, 02:48 PM

Wow. How biased can you be? I just read an article published by one of Kentucky's papers (www.kypost.com), and can't believe what I'm reading!

Here's a few excerpts:

Quote:

Kentucky is the first state to bring an action against Internet gambling operators that has resulted in the seizure of domain names.

Uhm.....do your research. How can we forget that Bodog lost bodog.com last year?

Quote:

“Unlicensed, unregulated, illegal Internet gambling poses a tremendous threat to the citizens of the Commonwealth because of its ease, availability and anonymity,” Gov. Steve Beshear said.

The last time I checked, gambling online isn't illegal. The UIGEA only covers payment processing, not taking bets.

Quote:

“The owners and operators of these illegal sites prey on Kentucky citizens, including our youth, and deprive the Commonwealth of millions of dollars in revenue. It’s an underworld wrought with scams and schemes.”

Really? Where's your facts and figures showing that online gambling is problematic for those under 21? And aside from the rogue outfits out there such as Virtual, etc., 99% of online casinos are legitimate outfits.

Quote:

By seizing the domain names, Kentucky can require that the illegal casino operators use readily available technology to block their domains from being accessed in the Commonwealth.

Who died and made Kentucky the Internet Police? Where will it end? Is their next step going to be blocking porn sites? .....oops, better not give them any ideas.

If they REALLY wanted to do something worthwhile, they should go after Internet predators that are targeting our children, and helping to get child porn sites taken offline... Oh, wait. That wouldn't fit in their agenda of extorting money from online casinos.

Source

Biscuit · 09-23-2008, 04:12 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by beaston;1920120 That wouldn't fit in their agenda of extorting money from online casinos.
[URL="http://www.kypost.com/content/news/commonwealth/story.aspx?content_id=18747748-4ec9-42eb-bad2-5713979b3d6c"

[/URL]

I am wondering if that is part of the motivation. I wonder if PokerStars, for example, could just make a contribution to someone's campaign fund and be taken off the list?

beaston · 09-23-2008, 06:29 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Biscuit

I am wondering if that is part of the motivation. I wonder if PokerStars, for example, could just make a contribution to someone's campaign fund and be taken off the list?

I wouldn't doubt it. Party Gaming did the same thing when they got in bed with the DoJ once the UIGEA was initially passed.

It seems a lot of KY residents are pretty enraged with what's going on as well.

Quote:

"It has become more apparent that Gov. Beshear is nothing more than a shill for the gaming industry"

With everything that's happening in Kentucky - poverty, health care problems and not to mention that their Educational system ranks near the bottom of the United States, you would think that Govenor Beshear would attend to more important issues at hand.

Biscuit · 09-25-2008, 09:42 AM

What's the latest on this, Beaston?