BREAKING NEWS!!! KENTUCKY LOSES!!!!!!!!!!!

[vixen777]

We did it Streakers!! Kentucky lost in the court of appeals!

LOUISVILLE, Kentucky – The Kentucky Court of Appeals today issued a ruling prohibiting the Franklin Circuit Court from enforcing its seizure order against the 141 domain names in the domain seizure case. The Court found that Internet domain names do not constitute a gambling device under Kentucky law and that the Franklin County Circuit Court clearly erred in concluding that the domain names can be construed to be gambling devices subject to forfeiture.

The appellate court was provided powerful arguments from a strong coalition of independent voices who opposed the Franklin Circuit Court ruling. Groups like the PPA, the ACLU of Kentucky and the Electronic Frontier Foundation all successfully weighed in with the appellate court from a variety of legal perspectives.

"This is a tremendous victory for Internet freedom and the rights of Kentucky residents who enjoy playing online poker," said John Pappas, Executive Director of the Poker Players Alliance. "We are pleased that the appeals court has forcefully reversed Judge Wingate's earlier ruling and confirmed many of the arguments that have been raised in opposition to the seizure effort. The Court of Appeals has agreed with the PPA's position that Judge Wingate did not have jurisdiction to issue the order that he entered against these domains and that Secretary Brown has no legitimate right to deprive the citizens of Kentucky of the legal right to play poker online."

"On behalf of the thousands of PPA members who live in Kentucky we hope that Governor Beshear and Secretary Brown will abandon this misguided effort and focus new energies into regulation and taxation of Internet poker," said Rich Muny, Kentucky State Director for the PPA, who resides in Union, KY. "This common-sense approach would benefit Kentucky's poker enthusiasts and the revenue will benefit the state as a whole. Rather than spending hard to find dollars on this case, the Governor could actually turn this into a much needed new revenue stream for the Commonwealth."

SOURCE
http://www.casinocitytimes.com/news/article.cfm?contentID=176722

 

[dani3839]

Woohooo, this is awesome!!!!!

:linedance

 

[lynnyadg]

awesome,could this mean,we might get closer to having all of our gambling rights back.:haha:haha:linelinedancelolzz

 

[cas1944]

:linedancelady:linedance

Doing the happy dance!!​

 

[judyb57]

Wonderful news! coolzzzzzman

 

[labell]

yeehaaa..... justice prevails!:gambling

 

[sorcer3ss]

I sure hope that you can get back some of your gambling rights, I know how much I would hate being restricted so badly.

 

[loufreekc]

:belly WOHOOOOOOOO :belly

 

[Duckey]

This is the best news I've heard in a long time. Now the question is how long before they fix it so I can reach sites that have been blocked. Then there's the big question will the casino's hold it against us and still not let players from ky play (one site I went to actually took ky off the list of states but all the ones that were supposed to be blocked before this started were listed). God I hope we find an understanding micro that will let me play I miss Mr Twinkles so bad............

 

[CareyG]

:linelinedanceAwesome News!!!!:linelinedance​

 

[vixen777]

Everyone needs to write their favorite casino managers a mail and beg them to ask MG to allow the USA back in!!:dancelady

 

[Spin2Win]

:grinclap :grinclap ​

 

[CareyG]

And allow us to play progressives again!!!!:haha​

 

[Duckey]

Well I wrote to Intertops last night let's see what they say the other micro I played at is now rouge so I havent contacted them. I still cant get to the rivals but will try contacting them to see what they say.:0))

 

[Duckey]

moannn well I contacted riverbelle and they said sorry we no longer accept players from the usa........................yellarghhyellarghhyellarghhyellarghhyellarghh
Looks like even if we won the court case we might be screwed.

 

[CareyG]

yellarghhyellarghhyellarghhyellarghh​

 

[luckymesomeday]

:danceladyskiingzcoolzzzzzman YEAH!

 

[mmh424]

Here is an update on the kentucky loss in court


Kentucky Lawyers File Notice to Appeal Court Decision

January 22, 2009 - Lawyers representing the Commonwealth of Kentucky filed a notice to appeal in the matter of iMEGA v. Judge Thomas D. Wingate. The Kentucky Court of Appeals issued a 2-to-1 majority decision to prohibit a lower court from seizing 141 Internet domain names, all related to Internet gambling, which had been part of an effort by Gov. Steve Beshear (D) to protect in-state gambling companies while blocking international gaming sites.
“We’re not surprised that Gov. Beshear and Secretary (J. Michael) Brown filed their appeal,” said Joe Brennan Jr., iMEGA’s chairman. “They both invested a lot of political capital in this suit. They likely feel they can’t back down.”
“Their attorneys took this on a contingency fee-basis, and have reportedly sunk over a million dollars of their own money in this suit, and other suits like this that they reportedly prepared for other states,” Brennan said. “Without a win in Kentucky, it will be hard to get those other suits off the ground, and they’ll have taken huge losses on their own gamble.”
“We feel very good with where we’re at right now,” said Jon L. Fleischaker, lead attorney for iMEGA and managing partner at Dinsmore & Shohl in Louisville, KY. “The Court of Appeals was very clear in its ruling that you cannot use Kentucky’s “gambling devices” law to seize Internet domain names, because they do not meet the statutory definition.”
“The lower court and the Commonwealth also erred when they attempted to get a civil forfeiture remedy - seizing control of the domain names - by applying it to a criminal statute that provided no such remedy,” Fleischaker added. “There has been no criminal prosecution, no conviction, and thus no right to seize the owners’ property. You just can’t mash together a civil statute and a criminal statute to justify your actions.”
There is no word yet on when the Kentucky State Supreme Court may take up the matter, but it is expected that it may be sometime this spring.

 

[judyb57]

Well, that does not surprise me. They are not going to just give in and say OK. Appeals will go on as long as they can. Until then, the casino are not going to slack off about the Kentucky ban. (Sorry Duckey. Hang in there hon!)

 

[mmh424]

Just wanted to add something I have posted about this before if you can support IMEGA they are the ones who have brought all these suits to court on our behalf www.imega.org they are also fighting the validity of the UIGEA in the supreme court.
Court Reviewing Dates for Federal i-Gaming Law Challenge

January 15, 2009 -The US 3rd Circuit Court of Appeals has asked iMEGA’s legal team to provide notice of their availability in April, for oral arguments in their challenge to a Federal law targeting the Internet gambling industry.
The court provided a list of possible dates to Eric Bernstein, lead counsel for iMEGA, and to the US Department of Justice, the lead defendant in the suit. The suit (iMEGA v. Keisler, et al) also names the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and the Federal Reserve as defendants.
iMEGA’s suit challenges the constitutionality of the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act of 2006 (UIGEA), which prohibits US financial institutions from processing transactions between online gambling sites and US players, while shifting the determination, burden and cost of enforcement onto the financial institutions.
“We’re very happy the Court is moving forward to schedule oral arguments,” said Joe Brennan Jr., iMEGA chairman. “We’re confident we have a strong suit, and it will be difficult for the Department of Justice to defend UIGEA, because it is so fatally flawed.”
iMEGA’s attorneys argue that UIGEA should be ‘void for vagueness’, and that Congress erred when it declined to defined what “unlawful Internet gambling” is, as they are required. iMEGA also argues that Congress cannot delegate that necessary determination as to what is ‘lawful’ or ‘unlawful’ to US banks and credit card companies. The Department of Treasury, which crafted the regulations for UIGEA, testified last year before Congress that they themselves could not make the necessary determination.
iMEGA’s appeal follows a ruling by Judge Mary Cooper (US District Court, Trenton) that established iMEGA’s associational standing to challenge UIGEA on the behalf of its members and the Internet gambling industry, but was dismissed by Judge Cooper without considering the constitutional issues raised in iMEGA’s challenge.