Kentucky Online Gambling Domain Seizure Case: Judge Considers Stay

Franklin County Circuit Court Judge Thomas Wingate has taken into advisement a Motion of Stay during a hearing today that would determine if 141 online gambling domain names are to be seized on November 17.

Lawyers on behalf of the Internet Gaming Counsel spoke before the judge on Wednesday. Gambling911.com has learned that Wednesday's hearing was quite heated though no immediate details were available at press time.

The Commonwealth has argued that the domains in question have adversely harmed the local economy. Governor Steve Beshear has called Internet gambling businesses "leecheson our communities" and "undermine Kentucky's horse racing industry."

Also on Wednesday, the Interactive Media Entertainment & Gaming Association filed a Petition for Writ of Mandamus. A Superior Court is essentially requested to compel a lower court or a government officer to perform mandatory or purely ministerial duties correctly.

Among the arguments contained in iMEGA‘s 239 page petition, The trial court in Franklin County, Kentucky lacked jurisdiction and violated due process.

"We are asking the Court of Appeals to reach down given the fact that the law Judge Wingate was trying to apply to this case does not match the situation at hand," iMEGA's President, Edward Leyden told Gambling911.com Wednesday evening. "The (Circuit) Court lacked jurisdiction and lacks the Constitutionality."

Leyden stated that the trial court essentially rewrote the law, though he still contends Judge Wingate worked hard to deliver a fair decision.

"The problem is that the law being applied does not fit and simply didn't belong in the (Circuit) court. The global Internet and local law simply do not make a good fit."

Leyden also acknowledged that the petition is separate from an actual appeal. The Petition for Writ of Mandamus accelerates the legal process and could help to delay a November 17 forfeiture hearing.

Another argument stipulates that Kentucky Secretary J. Michael Brown lacked standing in bringing this action in the first place.

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Christopher Costigan, Gambling911.com Publisher