Kentucky Picks and Chooses

April 28, 2009 | News Category: Gaming Law

0 Comments The sensational court case in which Kentucky wants to seize 141 online casino domain names is set to be heard in Kentucky's Supreme Court in June. At the same time that these online casinos are battling to defend their right to keep their domain names, Kentucky is allowing online gambling to continue within their borders.

Kentucky wanted to seize the domain names, which it insisted are "gambling devices," and are therefore allowed to be seized according to state law. However, Governor Steve Beshear has allowed online gambling on horse races to continue. Supposedly, Beshear is an opponent of Internet gambling, but he only seems to attack certain types of gambling, such as online casinos. It should be noted that he has totally ignored the issue of online gambling taking place at TwinSpires.com, a horse racing site which is owned by Churchill Downs.

YouBet.com and TwinSpires.com have both signed agreements with Churchill Downs to take wagers for the spring meet taking place at the racetrack. They will be accepting these bets online. These sites will also be bringing extra revenue to the state of Kentucky as they will also be taking bets from other states as well as Kentucky. There will be no taxes applicable in other jurisdictions.

Kentucky, home to the Kentucky Derby, is well-known as a state that prizes horseracing. It is concerning that a state that is taking online casinos to court over Internet gambling opportunities that cross the state boundaries, should perform exactly the same actions that they are taking others to court for. Not only is Kentucky allowing bets on horse races online, they are increasing the opportunities to do so.

Both officials from YouBet.com and Churchill Downs have made statements regarding the new online betting, but neither of them made any reference to the fact that Kentucky has taken online casinos to court for doing exactly the same thing that they are doing.

The Senior Vice President of Churchill Downs, Kevin Flanery stated that their top priorities include taking care of their customers, which includes "making it convenient for them to access our content."

Michael Brodsky, Chief Executive Officer of YouBet.com said "The Churchill Downs Spring Meet, and especially the Kentucky Derby, is a perfect complement to the abundance of global content YouBet has added this year alone."

One wonders how Governor Beshear or Michael Brodsky would choose to defend themselves if a forfeiture case similar to the one that Kentucky is waging against online casinos were taken out against them for online gambling across state boundaries.

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