30 Day Order of Abeyance in Kentucky Domain Name Case

December 27, 2010 | News Category: Gaming Law

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For those involved with the court case between the state of Kentucky, and the many online gambling domain names, or at least their representatives, there is yet another delay. This time, the delay is because the court is taking some time to consider the legal standing of iMEGA (Interactive Media Entertainment and Gaming Association) when it comes to defending the website owners.

The court case has been going on for about two years now, from one court to another, and now has finally been sent back to the original court it was heard in, so that the legal standing of iMEGA can be decided on.

The attorneys for the Commonwealth of Kentucky brought up this issue a few months ago, saying that iMEGA has not been officially appointed by each of the domain name owners to represent them, and therefore has no legal standing. Individual domain name owners would prefer not to come forward with their names and other personal details because they know that there can be negative repercussions for themselves and their companies when dealing with any issues regarding online gambling in the United States.

There are individuals and companies that have been accused of offering illegal online gambling in the United Stated, even before the UIGEA (Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act) was enacted. While most of these cases are either pending, or have ended up with deals made out of court, it makes no sense that people have been intimidated by the US Federal authorities to make deals when there was no law against offering online gambling at the time that they did so. However, those who have been taken on by the US Federal authorities know that they are up against a force that they are not likely to beat, and that they are not likely to have the financial resources to beat should it come down to it.

For this reason, those who have been accused in the Kentucky case would prefer to give as little personal information as possible to the Kentucky courts, and would prefer that iMEGA handle the cases for them.

The court has delayed the case by 30 days, while they consider the question of iMEGA's legal standing. Judge Thomas Wingate has effectively called a freeze that should keep the status quo for these 30 days, by issuing an Order of Abeyance.