Poker Players Alliance May Not Have Legal Standing in Kentucky

John Pappas, executive director of the Washington D.C.-based Poker Players Alliance, said in a statement that the move by Kentucky's Democrat Governor Steve Beshear to seize 141 online gambling domain names was "extraordinary and ill-conceived."

Pappas said he does not believe that Internet poker violates state or federal law.

But his million strong organization may have no standing to challenge this matter during a Thursday hearing, according to Edward Leyden of the the Interactive Media Entertainment & Gaming Association.

"We are not aware that the Poker Players Alliance is judicially recognized as we are," Leyden said. "We certainly intend to cooperate with the PPA in challenging this matter."

The Poker Players Alliance had not commented on how they plan to approach Thursday's hearing, which will have a bearing on several of its own members and the online poker industry as a whole should an order be issued.

iMEGA was planning to have a representative available at Thursday's hearing despite the vague notice on where and when such a hearing was taking place.

"The worst thing that could happen is the assumption that someone else is going to fight this," Leyden warned.

He does expect that other representation from various online gambling firms will be available and believes that the Poker Players Alliance will need to have someone present as well.

The PPA, which was seemingly caught completely off guard by this matter just like the rest of the industry, would have egg on its face if they were not at this hearing with at least some day's notice. But the timing could not have been worse for a number of the online gambling's top firms, many of whose executives and top legal counsel are attending an industry conference in Barcelona this week.

"This miscarriage of justice and this breach of the Constitution will not go forward without someone questioning it," Leyden said.

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Christopher Costigan, Gambling911.com Publisher