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Even before Thursday's hearing to determine whether 141 online gambling would be seized by the Commonwealth of Kentucky, Governor Steve Beshear apparently has wasted little time.
Gambling911.com broke the story Tuesday that LuckyPyramidCasino.com is now in the control of one Commonwealth of Kentucky Justice Cabinet Eric Lycan. LuckyPyramid registrar name was transferred this week to the state. The online casino was part of the popular Real Time Gaming software platform.
One of the largest online casino software companies, Microgaming, was believed to have representatives and executives in Barcelona this week for an online gambling conference catered to the European i-Gaming market. Microgaming, based in South America, was specifically named among the 141 domains Kentucky is looking to seize. Some of its licensees are also named.
Beshear's administration is looking to stomp out the horse racing industry online as a means of protecting is prized Kentucky Derby enterprise, however, a number of online casinos and poker rooms have also been named for good measure.
Online gambling affiliates, many of whom were also attending the gaming summit in Barcelona, were left worrying whether their entire revenue stream would be cut off should registrars be forced to pull the plug on dozens of domains.
The Kentucky Derby is the second most bet on sporting event in the United States after the Super Bowl, however, Derby betting interests this year rivaled that of the Super Bowl for the first time, according to Gambling911.com.
Edward Leyden, President of the The Interactive Media Entertainment & Gaming Association, warned that such a "protectionist" statement is an "extraordinarily huge question of Constitutional inequity."
He explained that there was already an ex parte proceeding under the Kentucky forfeiture statute to discuss this matter but nobody within the online gambling industry was aware of it.
"That's okay because the law allows for this," he went on to say, but warned that Thursday will be the last opportunity for the industry to take a stand. "There needs to be someone from the industry present on Thursday. Who knows what the effect of the hearing before Judge Thomas Wingate will be? But we do know that an order will cast a dark shadow over these (Internet gambling) domains. Such an order would be extremely troubling to these companies."
iMEGA was in around the clock discussions with its legal counsel to determine the next steps to be taken in this matter. Those firms whose websites were named in the complaint were strongly advised to have legal representation at Thursday's hearing.
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Christopher Costigan, Gambling911.com Publisher
